Almost Impossible
by RachelxMichelle
Summary: During the kiss Bella and Jacob have right before the fight with the newborns, something happens and because of an untold legend, Bella's life is changed forever. No one is prepared for just how much change will come and why.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my first Fan Fic. I had thought about writing one for a while and finally decided to give it a try.

Also, this story is not beta'd. (not sure how you would spell that) Sorry for the grammar, punctuation and tense problems. It's something I am working on.

Anyways, I really hope you guys like it!

_Disclaimer: Everything Twilight is owned by the wonderful Stephanie Meyer. I just very much enjoy playing with them.  
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Chapter 1

When Jacob kissed me, it was the most amazing thing I had ever felt. So warm, so electric, so... alive. There was no other way to explain the way it felt. The way he touched me, the way he made me put my hands on him, I could not find one reason, at that moment, why I had been so firm on not wanting to kiss him. If I would have know then, when he first kissed me, what I knew now, I wouldn't have hit him; I would have let myself enjoy it. I felt guilty for thinking that. Guilty because the vampire I loved was out there getting ready to fight for me and I was kissing my best friend. _Could I even think of him like that anymore?_

So many different thoughts were running through my head in those few moments his lips were on mine in a magical kind of way. Not only was I seeing an image of the future we could have, a future I wanted; I was seeing something totally different. The warm, electric, aliveness was doing odd things to me. I found myself completely forgetting Edward, forgetting everything and everyone. All of them except for Jacob. For that moment, it was him and me alone, not just in that area, but in the world. Nothing else mattered. I felt this huge weight lifted off me, while another was latching on, but this one was different, this one was... I don't know, natural? I don't know how to describe how it felt, but I felt a new bond to Jacob. I opened my eyes a little and I could see Jacob brighter than I ever had before, everything was a blur, literally, I almost thought I was going blind.

He pulled away from me and looked at me, he had a smile on his face that could only be described as somewhat smug and I couldn't help but to smile back. He said something, but I couldn't help but be distracted by what I saw and felt. I had no idea how to act on it, or even if I should, but I had to. For a second I had completely forgotten that there was a battle about to start and he would be leaving me, and there was a slight chance he may never come back to me again. When he turned and walked away, still smiling, I felt my heart tear in a way that only reminded me of the one other time I felt it. It was a feeling something like when Edward had left me. Jacob walking away ripped apart of me with him, and I could only hope he would come back to me and heal it.

That also reminded me that Edward was going to be coming back soon- to stay with me, as I had asked him to do. I felt guilty all over again, in more ways than one. I don't even remember him speaking when he came back. He just got right into the tent, not even really looking at me either. He knew what I had done and he was mad, or was he sad? I couldn't tell, because at that moment he was showing no emotion at all. Of course, that made me feel worse. Do I regret it though? Nope.

This attitude was new for me, the whole I should care, but I don't. I don't know where it came from and I didn't know if I liked it. I was so lost in my mind thinking about how different I suddenly felt, that I didn't even realize that something was going on. Something bad. Edward froze and I could tell he was listening. I heard a slight sound of someone coming up from the left of the tent and the next thing I knew we weren't in the tent anymore.

Everything had moved so fast and I couldn't tell how we had gotten from one place to another, but the next thing I knew we were standing up against a cliff waiting for whatever was coming for us. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Freaking out was never good to do in a situation like this; well actually it never was for any situation. I couldn't see anyone coming, though I was sure someone was. I looked up at Edward, but his eyes were fixed on something. I followed his glare and suddenly found bright orange wiping around her face like flames. Victoria. I knew it.

Even though I had thought this had been caused by her, it still surprised me. I didn't however expect her to find us. The next thought I had made more sense than anything. The newborns would follow my scent, but she would surely be following Edward's. And it worked.

I couldn't concentrate on anything, between all my crazy new thoughts, mixed new fears and some old ones. Here Victoria was ready to kill me, and Edward protecting me, but she had someone else with her, a new, younger vampire. I don't mean in the newborn vampire kind of way, I mean that as he looked about my age when he was turned. I instantly felt sorry for him. Sorry because I could tell, for some reason, he loved Victoria. I could tell by the way he looked at her, it was almost sick.

Words were being exchanged, but I could tell what they were, everything thought in my head was thumping along with the beat of my heart. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there like I always did. Weak and defenseless. I managed to somehow forget Seth was there, hopefully him and Edward can take these too without getting hurt.

I tried focusing on what they were saying, but it was just a lot of Edward reading what they were saying in their heads. Turns out Riley actually believed Victoria loved him and Edward was trying to convince him it wasn't true, that she was using him. Poor riley looked confused and I felt sorry for him all over again. Victoria was plotting all different ways to attack, but Edward was always one step ahead. After a few moments of talking, talking that I still really couldn't understand, the fighting had started. Edward fighting Victoria and Seth fighting Riley, while I just stood there panicking.

The fight was getting worse and there were a few times I thought Riley was going to get me, but Seth got him first. He was losing pieces of himself left and right. I couldn't tell how the fight was going with Victoria and Edward; it was just a blur of movements I could barely see. And that blur reminded me of Jacob and I was suddenly worried about him again, wishing I could be down there instead of here. Once again wishing I would have taken Jasper's advice to stand in the clearing. Then it wouldn't have been two on two with the target off to the side, alone.

While I was caught up in wondering if Jacob and everyone else was still ok, the fight around me ended. Seth had backed Riley up into the trees and Victoria's head was on the ground, rolling like a ball of fire. I looked up and seen that Edward was still ok, and with one last horrible sound, I realized that Seth was ok too. And as I thought that he came trotting out of the woods with parts of Riley in his mouth. Ew.

Edward started a fire and they both started putting the pieces of vampire in. In that moment, while they were smiling and proud, my stomach turned into one giant knot and I knew something was wrong. Somewhere farther from here, someone was hurt and I knew exactly who it was. And the look on Edwards face just confirmed it.

Without thinking, I took off into the trees, running faster than I have ever run before. I saw that Edward noticed too his eyes wide, but he didn't come after me or try and stop me. In just a couple of minutes, I had cleared the entire distance between the campsite and the clearing and came to an abrupt stop. I noticed a couple of people crowded around a body lying on the ground. My heart shattered into a million pieces.

I closed the distance between me and Jacob and collapse onto the ground beside him, holding my head in my hands, tears spilling out uncontrollably. I hear the faint words behind me of someone telling me he's going to be ok, but that does nothing. Just knowing he is that badly hurt, I couldn't bear it. I bent over him, kissed him gently on the forehead and said, "I love you. Please don't leave me." It came out only a whisper, but I knew everyone had heard me.

After the pack had carried him away and Carlisle had gone with them to help, I stood there feeling worse than I had ever felt. Alice came over, grabbed my hand and hugged me. I knew she would be mad at me later, but right then she really was my best friend. I felt horrible for everything.

After I had gone back to the Cullen house with Alice I couldn't wait to get to get home so I could go see Jacob. This pain in my chest only gets worse and the only person who has ever been able to help that hurt was the one causing it. I was so confused by everything and so focused on Jacob that I had forgotten that I had ignored Edward and he didn't come home with the rest of them. I wasn't as worried as I should have been.

A little while later, we were in the bathroom. I was getting ready to go home and Alice was doing my hair, as she loved to do. I looked up at her when it was too silent and she was glaring at me. I had no idea why until I realized she had been talking to me and I wasn't listening.

"Sorry Alice," I said.

"What's up with you Bella?" she asked.

That caught me off guard a little bit, because I really had no idea. "I don't really know," I told her honestly, but she didn't believe me.

Suddenly I had a thought to ask her something, but I was sure she would get mad. I asked her anyways. "Alice, can you see what my future will be like?"

"You know I only see what you have already decided to do Bella, and that can always change," she said.

"Yeah, I know. I meant like right now, when you see me... _What_ do you see?" I asked.

"Nothing."

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A/N:

Ok, so... What do you think? Reviews would be amazing! Rather you like it or you don't, no matter what the deal is, I want to hear it!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Once I got home, I had to explain to my dad the story for the weekend that Alice and I came up with. The story was of shopping and exaggerating on how much I had hated it, which I knew if I really did go, I would have. He seemed to believe it, though I have a hard time explaining it. I hated lying and I wasn't very good at it. He seemed to understand that something was bugging me and he looked worried, but he didn't ask.

I went up to my room to get ready to go see Jacob. I wanted to put some of my own clothes on and take off the silly dress Alice made me wear. I was scared. I didn't want to see Jacob in pain, but I couldn't stay away. It was like some weird magnetic pull that was coming from the direction of La Push. It confused me more than anything, feeling that way so suddenly and it made me wonder even more what Alice had meant when she said what she saw, or actually, what she didn't.

On the drive to La Push I got to thinking about Edward again and if this was me choosing Jacob over him. Surely if that was the case, I could have done a better job of it, but with all the craziness going on, I didn't see any other choice. I would have to wait and handle it later, Jacob came first. That thought caused me to think more of these new feelings, but I push the thoughts away to think about later, I didn't want to be more upset than I already was from seeing Jacob.

When I first pulled up to the house I could tell it was packed with people, well wolves mostly. I suddenly got nervous, but I ignored that and got out of my truck. I walked up to the already open front door and everyone stared at me. I froze for a second, not knowing what to do or think about their reactions. I started to continue inside when Carlisle, who must have just finished treating Jacob, walked in front of me and stopped me.

"Hello, Bella," he said.

"Hi," I was nervous with him, and I never really used to be.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me with slight anger in his tone. "Have you seen Edward?"

I couldn't figure out why he was being like that, I mean I sort of could, but I never heard Carlisle sound angry like this and especially not with me. Even if he was really angry about something, he never let it show. That was one of the things I really admired about Carlisle.

"I was worried about Jake. And no I haven't seen Edward," I told him. I tried to sound angry too, but it didn't work. It ended up sounding like I was more hurt than angry, and I actually was.

He just stood there looking at me for a moment then walked passed me to his car and drove away. It looked like he had been trying to decide whether or not to say something, but then decided against it. I was glad he did. I ignored the rest of the eyes watching me and walked right passed them, into Jacob's room.

Jacob was lying in bed with a blanket pulled up to his chin. My heart sank and I tried guessing at what all had been done to him. I had stop because I was just making myself worse. His face looked ok and I hoped that that meant the rest of him wasn't _too_ much worse. I walked over to the other side of his room and sat in a chair in the corner. I waited for him to wake up, feeling completely comfortable now that I was near him and knowing he would definitely recover. I tried not to think too much and at some point, I had fallen asleep.

I was woken up by a voice whispering my name. I jumped up in the chair and I almost forgot where I was. Once I saw Jacob I was calm again. He looked surprised, but happy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked softly.

_Wow, don't I feel welcome here. But _his tone said otherwise and he wasn't looking at me like he wanted to throw me out like everyone else seemed to want to do.

"How long have you been waiting?"

I looked out the window and noticed it was dark. "Oh, since the afternoon," I told him and he smiled.

His smile slowly faded and that made the ache in my chest slightly throb.

"Are you ok? Are you in pain?" I asked, shifting in the chair about to stand up.

"No... Not yet," he mumbled.

That confused me. _Not yet?_ I got up from the chair and walked over to his bed. I knelt down in front of him and stared into his eyes, hoping to see something. His eyes weren't showing any pain from the attack, but sadness.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm pretty sure I know why you're here Bella," he said, looking away and rolling onto his back. "You're here to tell me that you can't see me anymore. I guess the bloodsucker wins all around doesn't he?" he said the last thing with of a more sarcastic tone.

Tears started to fill my eyes, for one moment, one very weird moment; I could feel what he was feeling. Heartbroken. I couldn't understand why I was feeling that, but I would think about that later too.

"Actually, it's the opposite."

Jacob didn't say anything, just stared a whole in the ceiling. He shifted slightly and lifted up the blanket and I could only assume that he meant for me to lay down with him. I thought about that for a moment. I didn't want to hurt him by moving the bed, so I moved very slowly, listening for any signs of pain.

After I was next to him, laying completely still, he covered me with the blanket and put his arm over me and I heard a sigh of comfort. My heart started throbbing again, only differently this time. I felt enough love that could fill this room grow inside me and I almost thought I would literally burst.

I reached down to pick up his hand and kissed the back of it softly. He made a sound that I didn't understand and lifted his head closer to my ear.

"Was what you said really true?" he asked in a whisper.

I didn't know what he meant at first. Couldn't tell if he was talking about what I said in the clearing or what I had said a few minutes before, but the answer for both were the same.

"Yes."

I felt his lips still against my ear and I could feel him smile. I wrapped my fingers around his gently and in the comfortable silence we both fell asleep.

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_**A/N: I'm writing as fast as I can while it's all still in my head and I hope I didn't rush this.  
I got some great reviews so far, so I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter too.  
Also, I'm starting to work on the next one and I will have it up as soon as it's finished.**_  
_**Thanks =]**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It seemed to have been about an hour later we were woken up by sudden voices in the doorway. I opened one eye to peek towards the door to see my dad standing next to Billy. I knew Jacob was definitely awake, he caught the same image and laughed. I however didn't find this situation very funny, maybe more on the embarrassing side.

I knew that Charlie must have been here because I never went back home. I had no idea exactly what time it was, but I knew it was late. The only thing I did know is that I was nowhere near being ready to leave. I still needed to talk to Jacob, though I would prefer lying in bed with him any day, but time had slipped by and now I'd have to wait.

When Jacob's laughing had slowed down, Charlie walked slowly into the room and was standing right in front of me. I didn't know exactly what to do, so I just stayed where I was and did nothing.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked, and he seemed to be prepared for the worst.

"I didn't want to leave and we fell asleep," I told him. Easy enough to answer.

He shot me a confused look. "And what about Ed-" he started to ask, but I shook my head, silently asking him to drop it and he did, moving back to the first topic. "So, what are you doing in Jacob's bed?" he asked awkwardly.

"Well, I wanted him to rest and the chair got uncomfortable." If he knew how exhausted I was from this weekend, he would understand better. But I never wanted him to know about that.

Both Billy and Jacob laughed when I said that. My dad just stood there, looking even more awkward than before. I could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his face.

"Dad, nothing happened. Jacob can barely move without hurting and besides that, we've had this discussion before, I'm not even ready for that stuff yet." The laughter stopped and I could feel the tension build. Suddenly, after I saw how red Charlie's face had gotten, I started laughing. The tension seemed to thin out bit.

The room was silent and I could tell no one else knew what to say. All I could think about was what I had wanted to talk about and not having my chance anymore. After a moment I had wondered what I was going to do tomorrow and then I thought of a way to break the silence.

"Can I come back tomorrow?" I asked Jacob.

"Of course you can," he said.

"Ok. Then I guess I really should get home now," I said, not moving.

I was hoping Charlie would be satisfied and he was. I could see him nod his head once and he turned to leave the room, Billy following. I was also pretty sure he would be waiting for me outside to make sure I wouldn't take my time leaving.

I stayed next to Jacob for a few quiet minutes, stalling and I think he was too. He leaned a bit closer to me, lips about an inch from my ear.

"I don't want you to leave either," he whispered.

I could feel tiny tingles of joy spread through my body as he said that. Though I was sure I knew he didn't want me to leave, it was nice hearing it. I needed a little reassurance from someone that I was doing the right thing and I had only hoped he wouldn't have changed his mind, and tell me it was too late for us.

I turned to him and kissed him softly on the cheek, resting my forehead against his, still not wanting to move. He sighed and reached up to lightly touch my cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb.

"I love you Bella," he whispered.

I turned to look right into his eyes. "I love you too Jacob." It felt amazing to finally be able to say that out loud again, knowing this time _he_ really heard me.

As I turned to get out of bed, slowly so I wouldn't make it move him too much, I felt like I had almost floated up. I have never quite felt this happy before. I was surprised at that. I had thought Edward had made me happy, but nothing compared to this. Of course that added to the confusing mess, so I pushed that aside with the rest for later.

After I got up and stretched I walked over to the door and I felt like I was actually forcing myself to leave. Something so simple I had never imagined would be so hard, especially since I would be back tomorrow. I stopped once I had gotten too the doorway and turned to smile at Jacob, who was still watching me. He smiled his beautiful smile back and in that moment, ignoring the bad, everything felt right with the world.

Sure enough when I got out to my truck, Charlie was leaning against the police cruiser with his arms folded over his chest, waiting. I laughed at the sight of it. I waved to him so he could see I was out of the house and I got inside my truck. As I closed the door I thought about how Charlie really was a great dad and I sometimes wished I would tell him more often, but I knew he hated that mushy stuff.

I drove home thinking about how my life has turned out. I wondered for a second what my life would be like if I had never decided to move to Forks. Sure I wouldn't be constantly worried about staying alive, or wondering who next wanted me dead. In Phoenix my only worry was running down the stairs to fast and falling down, but here death seemed to be waiting around every corner I turned. Victoria may be dead now, but I still had others who would be after me soon. I stopped that thought before it actually started.

Thinking about all that I somehow knew that there was only more problems to come. I could feel it sneaking up slowly and it would only be a matter of time before some other life or death situation came out to mess things up again. I had no idea what it might be, but that's how things like that happened. It's always unexpected and at the worst timing.

It was a clear night, no clouds for once. I looked up at the sky for a second; I knew this road so well I didn't have to watch it so carefully. Every star was shining bright and I was thankful more than ever to be alive. I knew that in the next few days I had to deal with things I really didn't want to, but with knowing it was what I truly wanted, I knew it would all work out. I had no idea how it would, but it would. I had no idea how I seemed to have no real choice in the matter and I had hardly any time to think it through, but even with that I _was _happy with the choice that was made. And that was enough to accept it all... For now.

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A/N: Promise everything will start being cleared up in a couple more chapters and the chapters will be getting longer. Review? =]


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Once I got home and was in bed, I laid there for a while thinking before I had fallen asleep. I thought about everything that had happened, starting with the kiss. I thought about how Edward had went to get Jacob for me after what he heard us talking about, our engagement. I felt horrible again, but then I thought about the kiss itself and the warmth. I felt all those feelings all over again and I tried to define it, but I couldn't. I had no idea what it could mean and maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it was just finally becoming clear to me; though it wasn't clear at all. Except for Jacob.

I started thinking about Jacob's injuries. Once we had gotten home, Charlie explained everything to me, I didn't want to ask Jacob, I didn't think he wanted to think about it. Charlie told me that almost every bone in one side of Jacob's body was crushed and Carlisle had to do a lot to help him heal better. There was probably more to that, but nothing they would have actually told him. I think that was why I was ok hearing it from my dad, he had the easy side of the story and it was probably much, much worse. I felt every bone in my body ache at the descriptions. I almost laughed when he told me what they told him caused the injuries, but I didn't. Now I knew he would _never _want me near a motorcycle.

Thinking about this lead me to thinking about other things I was putting off. I thought about how fast I had run to get to Jacob. It was nowhere near being a normal human speed, but maybe it was the adrenaline, or the worry itself. I also wondered why Edward had just stood there and let me go. Was he letting me go because he knew what happened? Was he mad? Hurt? Confused? And what about Edward? What am I going to do about him?

I was actually a little surprised that Edward didn't pop up in my room once I had gotten home. I was almost sure he would save that conversation for now, to ask me why I did what I did. I wasn't sure if I should feel sad about that or not, but I wasn't. I was relived at having more time to think about it. I was however a little worried about where Edward had gone off too and wondered if he was home now. After that I finally fell asleep.

Soon as my eyes closed I started having what was one of the weirdest dreams I think I have ever had.

The fight with the newborns was about to start and we were all just standing there, Edward, Jacob, and I. The three of us facing each other, not saying anything. It skipped over to the part where poor Riley was being torn to pieces by Seth and Edward was fighting Victoria. Fighting for my life and risking his. At that moment the image of the kiss with Jacob flashed and I started crying, thinking about how I had betrayed Edward. I felt horribly guilty, I felt it like a throbbing pain throughout my body.

I didn't talk or do anything except cry. Suddenly, at the end, Seth let out a howl of pain, a way of letting us know something had gone horribly wrong somewhere farther from here. Before words were even spoken, I took off running towards Jacob, like I had really done, and found him lying unmoving on the ground, more visibly broken then when it had actually happened.

Edward had followed me back and was standing behind me when I whispered to Jacob that I loved him. It wasn't until after Jacob was being carried away that I saw him standing there. A single tear rolled down my cheek when I saw the look on his face and I mouthed the words "I'm sorry." He growled at me, hands in fists and I took a step backwards. He followed. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Emmet and Jasper running over as they tried to catch Edward before he got to me. They weren't fast enough since Edward already knew what they were planning to do. Edward pushed me backwards farther, pinning me to a tree with one hand, the other holding my face too tightly to make me look at him. His eyes were deep pools of darkness and were truly terrifying. All he said was "Why?" and that one word was so cold, it chilled me to the bone.

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When I woke up the next morning, the sun was barely even showing. I thought about my dream and started crying. I wondered if Edward would really have done something like that if he wasn't such a good guy, or vampire. I was crying so much now that my vision was completely blurred. I got up and started to head down to the kitchen to use the phone, but I caught myself in the doorway. I knew that after what I had done to Edward the least I could do now was leave him alone, at least until I knew exactly what to tell him. I had to leave him and the rest of the Cullens alone. After all, I had betrayed them all.

I slowly walked back over to my bed and plopped down, holding my head in my hands. I cried just a bit more when I started wondering how I could do that to such wonderful people. How could I just turn and run and never go back to the very people I had once considered my family? The family that I had wanted to join, the family of vampires who risked their existence, more than once, to save my life from other vampires. I felt even worse and crawled back into bed to try and sleep a little bit more.

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_**A/N: Since this one is pretty short, I may post another one again later on today or tonight. I have the next 3 chapters written already, but not sure if I want to post them all at once. Review! =D**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I think I got maybe another hour of sleep before I heard the phone ringing downstairs. I jumped up and ran down to answer it, actually reaching it in one ring. It was Billy.

"Hey Bella, I'm calling for Jacob. He uh, wanted to stay in bed," he said while laughing.

I wasn't so sure that was the case. I kind of wondered if maybe Jacob was afraid to call, maybe thinking I had changed my mind or something. _Hah. Like I could!_

"Oh, hey," I replied, still thinking.

"Yeah, he wants to know if you're still coming over today."

I started laughing, and I was kind of surprised by my mood change compared to my mood from about an hour ago.

"Is that it?" I asked, still laughing.

"Yep," he said.

"Ok, well yes I'm still coming over. I just woke up. I'll get ready and I should be there in a little bit," I told him.

There was silence for a second. He started to say something then stopped, just barely making a sound.

"Just say it," I said. I knew I wouldn't like it, but I still wanted him to ask.

"Well, it's just..." he started, but paused for a moment. "What about the Cullens?" he asked finally.

I guess maybe I was right when I thought the real reason why Jacob didn't call me himself. Apparently, Billy had the same thoughts. I didn't quite know how to answer him at first.

"Well... Sometimes your heart knows what you truly want and sometimes you let that get away, regretting it later. I'm not."

He seemed to be satisfied with my answer, he laughed lightly and said, "Alright. See you in a little bit." And we both hung up.

I ran upstairs to take a much needed shower and get dressed. The shower took longer that it was supposed to, but the hot water just felt too good. I got dressed fast, almost breaking my dresser in the process. I brushed and blow-dried my hair, then once realizing it wouldn't ever do what I wanted it to do I gave up and finished getting everything else ready. Once I was finally done, I looked up at the clock and it had only been forty-five minutes since Billy had called. I flew downstairs and ran out the door. Forty-five minutes seemed to be too long.

For once, my truck wasn't fast enough for me and that was frustrating. The speed never used to be a problem for me, but for some reason now, I just wanted to drive faster.

When I had finally pulled up to the Blacks' house and walked up to the door, it was already open with Billy behind it.

"Hey Bella. That really was only a little bit," he said laughing.

"Yeah, I guess it was." I was laughing along with him.

He nodded his head in the direction of Jacobs's bedroom and I started walking towards it. I knocked as I opened the door and saw Jacob sitting up on the edge of his bed, looking _a lot_ better than he had yesterday. I smiled and he smiled, a bright beautiful smile, back at me.

I walked over to give him a gentle hug.

"I'm not going to break if you hug me tighter Bells," he said in my ear and laughed.

He was always making fun of me being weaker than he was. I hugged him tighter and he winced.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, laughing a little while I pulled away from him. He was rubbing the left side of his stomach, the side that had been crushed.

"Either I _am_ in bad shape or you're getting stronger," he said and laughed again.

I laughed too, but lightly. That had me wondering if maybe I _was_ getting stronger. I shook my head, as if I was trying to shake the thought out before I took that too seriously. All I got was a quick flash of my dresser from earlier.

Jacob's eyes narrowed a little. Apparently, he could tell something was bothering me. I really need to work on hiding my emotions better.

"What's wrong?" he asked, patting the bed next to him.

I sat down, folding my hands and resting them on my lap while looking at them. "Nothing," I lied, but I knew he wouldn't believe me. He shifted a little to face me, bringing one leg up on the bed, folding it under the other. I guess we were going to have my talk now.

"It's just that... Things have been weird since yesterday. Maybe it's just in my head, maybe I'm still just recovering from it all. I don't know," I said and shrugged.

"Maybe, but I don't think _you_ really believe that."

He knew me too well sometimes, and sometimes that was a problem. I didn't know exactly what to say, or how to start saying it. We both just sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Bella, what's really wrong?" he asked, sounding worried.

Suddenly I wasn't so sure I wanted to talk about it anymore. Thinking about it and saying it all out loud were two totally different things and I was sure he would think I was crazy about it all, that I had finally snapped. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that something has definitely changed. I didn't know what exactly it was, or what made it change, but there was no reason to keep denying it anymore. And saying something has changed over and over in my head isn't suddenly going to make it any clearer.

I looked up at him and he was looking directly at me. He raised an eyebrow, as if he was silently asking me to tell him. I sighed and gave in, but didn't look at him.

"Well... I.. We... When we..." I just kept stuttering, I didn't know how to start. Finally after a moment, I got it right. "Just don't laugh at me ok?" I asked, I really didn't need him thinking I was crazier than I already felt. He just smiled.

"When we kissed yesterday, something happened. I don't know what it was, but it's been bugging me." I stopped for a second and without really wanting too, I looked up at him. His face sunk in a little, loosing that happy glow he had before and his lips turned down. All humor was gone and I didn't know what to think about his reaction, so I continued.

"It was so warm and... It was amazing. Really. But it was the feeling during and after. During the kiss... I could almost see what the future could be and it was a future I wanted, a future with us. For a moment, it was like nothing else in the world existed, nothing but you. I opened my eyes a little and it was like everything was a blur and the only thing I could see clearly, was you. In that same moment I felt like I was sort of being detached, or being torn away from something and then it was like I was attached again to something and it was you. It's really hard to explain, but it was sort of like a weight pulling me down, yet lifting me too, I don't know, it's just weird. It was like these invisible chains were connecting us and I haven't felt the same since."

Just as I had feared, he laughed at me. But it wasn't the kind of 'you're crazy kind of laugh.' It was more of a nervous kind. My head started buzzing with a million different thoughts, but was interrupted by a sound of something like glass breaking in the direction of the kitchen, or maybe farther away. I couldn't tell. I turned my head quickly to face the sound. Jacob did too, but instead of focusing on the sound, he was looking at me curiously and that confused me.

"You heard that too?" he asked quietly.

I didn't get why he was asking me _that _question since it was kind of obvious I did.

"Well, yeah," I answered.

"That was pretty far away," he said, adding an even more curious tone.

"Wasn't that in or right outside the kitchen?" I asked.

"No, it was out in the front yard," he said.

That didn't really make any sense. Why was it such a big deal that I heard something break? I was only getting more and more confused instead of finally getting things cleared up. I shrugged and decided to continue the conversation.

"Why did you look so nervous when I told you all that?" I asked and he looked even more nervous than before. "What?"

He laughed again, but this time it was the 'you're crazy' laugh. I could feel my face tighten and my lips were in a straight line. I was just waiting now for him to tell me I was. After I let him laugh it off for a few minutes, then he finally spoke.

"It's just, that's what they say it feels like when you imprint, or something very close to that anyways."

My head stared swarming with thoughts again. I didn't know what he was saying or what he meant. I just kind of shook my head.

He looked down at his hands and explained.

"That's what they say imprinting is like. Detached feelings then followed by sort of reattaching to the person who is supposed to be like your "_soul mate"._ The whole world is turned around to revolve around that one person." He paused for a moment, deep in thought and I froze completely. After a minute he finally continued. "Also, any feelings you _might_ have had for someone else suddenly doesn't matter as much. Everything is focused on the one your heart truly belongs too. The one person you would do _anything_ for."

I was still frozen, staring at the wall. I could feel Jacob looking at me, watching my reaction. I thought about Edward and it kind of made sense in an even more confusing sort of way. _Had _I _imprinted?_ And suddenly I started laughing.

Jacob jumped and made a groaning sound.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." I said, still laughing. "Are you ok?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked, surprising me and I stopped laughing.

I thought about that for a moment, didn't really have anything to say to that, so I just asked the first question that had popped into my head.

"So, what... _I _imprinted?" I started laughing again, more hysterically than before, even rolling around a little on the bed. That was quite possibly the funniest thing I have never heard. "Is that even _possible?_ I thought that was just a wolf thing." I just kept laughing while I lay backwards on his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to calm down.

I glanced over at Jacob and he was just staring at the space where my face had been, obviously lost in thought once again.

I started thinking about all the other things that were bugging me, well maybe not bugging me, but things that made no sense at all. I started adding them up using my fingers.

"Speed, I guess hearing too..." I remembered not needing a blanket last night because I was hot, though I knew it was supposed to be freezing. I also remembered almost ripping my dresser drawer out when I tugged on it to open. It was usually so hard to open and I had almost brokne it. "heat, strength... Oh and I guess the other thing too, those feelings... hmm... And the vision..." I stopped, not really adding it all up just yet, when I realized that Jacob was staring at me.

I laughed a little. "What?" I asked.

He looked like he had a million things to say, but instead he asked, "Vision?"

"Oh yeah. I had talked to Alice after I went back to their house before I had to go home. After everything had happened, I asked her if she could tell me what she saw in my future and she said, 'nothing.'"

His eyes widened. I narrowed my eyes a little in confusion, but I just looked back up at the ceiling.

"I guess I really had made up my mind before I'd known it," I added.

I thought that would help his ease his reaction some, but it didn't and it made me even more curious. After a moment I thought about what Alice had said again, and the way she said 'Nothing.' She sounded worried and she also looked nervous. Not in the way that she might have been, apparently knowing who I had chosen, but in a way that there was something that she really didn't even understand.

I really didn't think much about that until now. Maybe she could have somehow seen something else. I wished, more than ever, that there was a way I could see what Alice had seen.

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**_A/N: So... What do you think so far? I love the reviews! _**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After a while, when Jacob didn't say anything, I excused myself to the bathroom; the silence was getting to be way too much. But, while I was in there, I heard Jacob walk into the living. I stopped before opening the bathroom door and I could hear him talking to his dad about the conversation we had just had. I was mad. That was supposed to be personal and he's just going to blurt it out like that? Before I could really get too mad, I could tell something was wrong. It was their tones and it made me really nervous. They sounded almost scared.

I made a big scene of opening the door, just in case they wouldn't have noticed me otherwise. I tried to look at anything but them. I was worried they would know I heard them, but they already knew. Billy was looking at me with wide eyes. I sighed and kind of stomped my way back into Jacob's room, plopping back down on his bed. I wait for him to come back, but he didn't. Instead it was Billy who came in.

He wheeled himself in so he was in front of me, facing me. I twisted awkwardly to face him, though I knew I wouldn't want him to see my reaction to anything he was about to say. I had a problem lately with people reading more into them than I had wanted them too.

"I'm sorry we were talking about you like that," he said, still looking shocked. "I'm also sorry you're going through such a... odd time."

I didn't know what to say. 'Odd time' seemed to cover it all right, but I didn't understand how it was his fault. I didn't know what to say, so I just sat still and listened.

"Jacob was just telling me about what you told him. We don't exactly know what to say about it, though it sure is something," he said, adding a nervous laugh. "There have been certain things mentioned in the legends, something similar, but they were never taken seriously. No one who would know anything about this is still alive. I guess, with everything else, no one really believed something like _this_ could really happen."

I just sat there frozen, still listening, but not sure I believed it. They had heard of something like this? What _was_ this anyways? I still didn't talk.

"How have you felt?" he asked suddenly.

"Well, um... Besides weird? I've noticed quite a few things that aren't normal for me." I thought for a moment about everything I had added up earlier. "Well, first there was when I knew something was wrong with Jacob, I ran faster than I have ever been able to run. Then there was the fact that I didn't need a blanket for the first time last night. I don't really know if that's anything though." I added a laugh, though I didn't find anything very funny anymore.

"Also, this morning when you had called, the phone woke me up. I've never been able to hear it loudly enough to wake me up before. Even when I'm awake sometimes I can't hear it from downstairs. Um, I also almost broke my dresser this morning when I yanked on the drawer; I usually have a hard time opening that drawer. Oh yeah, the vision Alice had. She said she saw nothing when she looked at my future. Thought that wasn't really anything, considering how I was feeling at the time, she wouldn't see anything if I had chosen to be with Jacob. But it was her reaction to it that I still don't understand." I told him every little detail I could think of.

He seemed suddenly very serious and that only made me feel worse. I think I would have preferred them laughing at me and thinking I was crazy. I was somewhat hoping they would tell me that this was just a cruel joke they were playing on me and that they were just going along with what I was saying. But it wasn't and they weren't. They were too serious and that scared the shit out of me.

I don't normally curse like that, but this was really scary. They were actually making it sound like I was becoming a werewolf. I started laughing a little bit once I had thought of that, but Billy was so serious that it knocked the laughter right out of me. I was suddenly terrified.

It was at that moment that I knew that was what he wasn't saying. I had no idea what to say or what to do. What does a person do in a situation like this?

Jacob walked into the room at that moment and sat next to me, but I didn't look at him, I couldn't take my eyes off the wall in front of me. He put his arm around me and I leaned into him, feeling just a little more comforted than before. Billy wasn't talking anymore and Jacob leaned in closer to me.

"I felt the same way during that kiss," he whispered very softly.

I jumped back away from him a little, almost standing up. His eyes opened so wide I thought they would pop out. I couldn't even talk.

"What? I figured you would be happy to hear that," he said, now looking confused.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" I shouted at him.

He looked surprised again. "Well, I was planning on it. That was why I was impatient about you coming over today, but then when something was obviously wrong with you, I let you tell me first. And well, that was big news coming from you. _Really_ big. Everything I wanted to say just kind of slipped my mind," he said loudly, but not shouting like I was. After a minute, he went back to his normal tone. "I'm sorry, I really should have told you right after you said all that, but-" and he didn't finish.

Billy had left during that little conversation and I barely noticed. I was still stunned by all this and still didn't know what it all really meant. I couldn't even think coherently so I knew it was best to keep my mouth shut. Nothing made sense anymore; everything I thought might have at one point, just suddenly changed. The world was definitely not how it used to be. This was all so unexpected, obviously more than unexpected, it was almost impossible. It was almost impossibly impossible. Again, like I said, nothing made sense anymore.

While we both just sat in silence I was actually thinking that maybe I had really lost my mind, finally snapped. I tried convincing myself that I was imagining all of this, or that I had somehow managed to slip into an alternate universe. A universe that somehow allows me, without anything in my DNA to cause it, to become a werewolf.

I was ok with _knowing _vampires and werewolves. Hell, I even _wanted_ to become a vampire. That was easy, one bite. But this? Becoming a werewolf was supposed to be in their blood, how was I becoming one? How was any of this possible? Suddenly a thought crossed my mind that kind of freaked me out a little. If this is all _really_ happening, why haven't I phased yet? And that was the last thing I clearly remembered.

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_**A/N: I've been trying to write this out as fast as I can. I had the first 6 chapters done before I had posted the first one and so far I have 8. Anyways, chapters may slow down a little for a couple days due to the fact that I somehow managed to hurt my right hand today. **_

_**=) Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I have no idea how long I was passed out, but when I woke up I was still in Jacob's room, still on his bed. The only thing that had changed was that there were more people in the room. After I decided to open my eyes, I started recognizing them, and I gasped when I finally knew who they all were and why they might have been there.

Sam and some of the other pack members whose names I can't quite remember at the moment, were there in the room. Some standing, some sitting, but all staring at me. I decided to lie perfectly still and wait until someone started to speak. I just hoped they weren't expecting it to be me who started.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Jacob cleared his throat, he was still sitting beside me. Sam just shook his head and looked down. I didn't know what that had meant, but I knew this wasn't going to go well. Fear started to take me over again, and I decided to sit up a little, propped up on my elbows. I looked at Jacob, hoping he would fill me in, but everyone except for him and Sam were looking at me. The silence was starting to really annoy me, so I gave in and talked first.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked them.

Instead of speaking, Sam looked at Jacob, and Jacob looked at me. I just stared at Jacob, waiting for an explanation. Finally Sam decided to say something, though he really wasn't making much sense.

"I... Well, we never thought this would ever really happen. Even though the other legends have turned out to be true, this one just seemed so... I don't know, made up? I don't know why."

I just stared at Jacob, waiting for him to speak, he didn't. He just sat there as still as I was. Things started making even less sense than before, which I didn't think was possible.

After a few more minutes of no one talking, I was beyond annoyed with it all, moving on to just plain mad.

"So, what does all this mean? What all is going to happen?" I asked, letting my anger show.

"Keep an eye on her." One of the pack members barely mumbled. Though I could hear what was said clearly, I didn't know who had said it. My head darted in his direction and if I remembered correctly, it was Paul.

"What the hell does that mean?" I yelled at him, sitting up in the bed.

They all just looked at me, not moving and looked like they were shocked.

"What?" I asked, it was almost a growl. That even surprised me. They all continued to stare.

It was too much. I couldn't handle being in a room packed with a bunch of _tough_ werewolves who couldn't even answer a damn easy question. I pushed myself out of the bed and walked out of the room and straight out the front door. I was about to get in my truck to leave, but I must have left my keys in Jacob's room. _Damnit._

I didn't notice till I had already crossed the street that Jacob had followed me and I knew the rest of the pack wasn't too far behind him. I was beyond mad now, but I was also scared. I knew what they were waiting for. And that was what Paul must have meant, and that made me even madder.

It was the anger that must have pushed it beyond my control. I started shaking, almost vibrating. It felt like a fire was starting flow through my spine and slowly spread out to my arms and legs. I was getting more furious as it was all happening and I couldn't stop it. I had never been _that _mad before.

I turned to face them and I saw Jacob standing not too far away from me and I also saw him take a step backwards. Sadness started to replace the anger. He was afraid. Either he was afraid of me, or he was afraid for me, but still it might as well have been the same. He backed away from me and the shimmering slowed to a stop. I started crying and collapsed to my knees. Everyone else just froze, still staring like before.

After Jacob realized I was calmer than before, he walked over and put his arms around me. I could tell the rest of the pack still wasn't sure if it was safe yet or not, but they walked over too, slowly. I was still in shock.

"It's real. It's really happening and I have _no_ control over it." I started crying again, but a little less hysterically.

"Yes," Jacob said. But after a moment he added, "But maybe you have more control then you thought, then we had thought."

That caught me off guard a little bit and I looked up at him. The rest of the pack exchanged glances with each other, possibly agreeing. I didn't know what that meant, but either way I didn't like it, any of it. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand and looked at everyone, one by one.

"So that's how it feels?" I asked. "That's how it feels to have your life chosen for you, to become something you never thought you would _ever _become. To have a normal, well somewhat normal, at least human normal in my case, life ripped away from you?"

They all just stared at me. Once again no one seemed to know what to say.

After even more uncomfortable silence, Jacob helped me up off the ground. He put his arm around my waist and led me back into the house. We stopped to sit on the couch; everything appeared to be so different now.

I looked at Jacob and it looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

"Hmm?" I said.

"How did you stop from phasing?" he asked.

I could hear the rest of the guys right outside the front door, but I didn't care. At least I wouldn't have to explain it again later.

"I don't really know," I said. "I just saw the look on your face and I just stopped."

"Why?"

I looked down at my hands. "You were scared of me. You could tell what I was about to do and you backed away and you didn't _just_ back away. _You _were scared. Of me." I shook my head back and forth and I could feel the tears start to sneak back up, but I was able to hold them back.

After a little while of silence, no idea how long it was, Jacob finally decided to talk. I braced myself for the worst, since everything was going that way, but all he did was open his mouth and close it again.

"What?" I asked him.

"I wasn't really scared of _you_... More like worried... scared _for_ you." I knew it was one of the two. "I was scared _for_ you because I know what you're going through. Just a little differently. I know what it's like and it's something I would have never wanted you to go through." He stopped for a moment, staring at the floor. "I'm also scared because we don't know exactly what is happening or if there is any way to stop it. Though I'm pretty sure it's too late now. And I'm scared now because I'm afraid you might hate me for this, because it has to be my fault. Maybe if you had never met me, this wouldn't be happening to you..."

He started rambling and mumbling the last few things he said. I just started shaking my head back and forth slowly, not wanting to hear anything else. What was he saying? Why? His fault? _Wow._ Before I could even begin to understand or try to, I jumped off the couch and turned to look down at him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked. "That is the stupidest thing I have _ever_ heard you say!" I stopped until he finally met my eyes. "You know what? I would rather go through this than to have never met you!" I yelled and my body was shaking again.

That seemed to have brought the shock back to his face, but he also noticed what was happening again. I fought it with all I had and it took a lot. I focused on his face and focused on trying not to be so mad at him. I decided to talk more, hoping that would help.

"I love you, Jacob. You are the most important person in the world to me. You helped me when no one understood how to even try. You knew me before I had even given you the chance too and you knew things I never even had to tell you. You get me. You get me in ways that, for example, Edward never even tried to understand. And for that, for everything you have done for me, I _will _accept this."

Ok, maybe I am a little crazy. After this, I'll admit to it. Sure, this whole thing scares me to death and I'm sure it will all hit me again later when Jacob isn't blaming himself in front of me. I may even laugh about it later, I don't know. I really know nothing anymore.

The way he looked at me, it kind of confirmed my thoughts. The only way to describe the way he looked at me right then was that he really had thought I lost it.

"Ok, yeah that sounds crazy. I know. Actually it all really does scare me. But don't _ever_ blame yourself for me loving you."

The next thing that happened I totally didn't expect. Jacob jumped up off the couch and threw his arms around me. He kissed me so hard, yet so gently; my body was filled with a new kind of fire. I wrapped my arms around him, probably too tightly since he winced and I loosened my grip a little. I heard him make a disapproving sound, so I tightened my arms again. I parted my lips a little and at the same time he did too, slowly moving his tongue against mine. His hands were moving slowly along my back. I moved my hands from his back to the front of his chest, slowly moving them up and down, discovering and admiring every muscle there. His hands moved up into my hair and as he gripped a handful of it, he pulled me even closer.

I was trying to figure out what else to do, this was all so new to me, but before I could finish the thought, someone walked into the room clearing his throat. I jumped backwards and I could feel my face glow red as Sam eyed both me and Jacob with slight humor.

I couldn't believe I let myself get so carried away, but it was only the second time I had ever kissed someone like that and again, too soon, I had to stop. But uh, maybe it was for the best. I turned my focus to the floor, but not before Jacob started laughing and I caught a glimpse of him turning a little red himself. Sam was just standing there. I couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or yell at us for what he had just walked into.

I still didn't really like Sam much, though I don't really know how I feel about _that _anymore. I guess I was going to have to get used to him, don't think I really have a choice now.

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**_A/N: Hope you enjoyed it and I hope it's starting to clear up a bit more for you guys. Love the reviews. =D_**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sam continued to stand there and stare at us. The rest of the guys must have left, because I didn't hear them outside anymore. After a few seconds of him apparently thinking, he decided he was ready to talk and walked over to stand in front of me.

"I'm actually surprised you've been able to stop yourself from phasing two times now, seems you've found a way to focus. But I don't want you pushing your luck, you might end up phasing at the wrong time and you could end up... I think you get my point." His voice drifted off.

I couldn't tell who was more uncomfortable here, though I didn't see a need for Sam to be uncomfortable. He should be used to this kind of stuff. Well, I guess maybe since it's me he's telling, that maybe be the cause of it.

I started thinking about the need for him to tell me that and then I thought of Emily and what Sam had unintentionally done to her in one of _those_ moments. My temper wass getting so bad; it really wouldn't take much to set me off. I was scared to do it around Jacob; I couldn't image it happening in front of Charlie. Hell, I couldn't imagine it happening at all.

It almost made more sense on why Jacob would have been scared of me, not just scared for me as I had thought before. He may not have wanted to admit it, but if I would have phased then, there was no telling what I could have done. I could have attacked him. Seeing me coming could have made him phase and that would hurt him too. What a mess it all was becoming.

When it came to thinking about phasing more, so many different thoughts came rushing through my head. Thoughts like- what it would feel like, how was it really like being a wolf, and things like how much would I change physically. I'd seen the changes Jake went through and I see how big the rest of the pack is. I could only hope I wouldn't change _too _much, but I liked the thought of not being weak anymore and hopefully not being so clumsy.

I thought of another thing, one thing I was really curious about now was... Would they be able to hear my thoughts when I phased? Edward couldn't, so maybe they won't be able to either. But before I could really continue thought, someone was talking again.

"So, the next time you feel the urge to... Just do it. I don't know what else to tell you, I mean you already know the rest, and as far as I know, it shouldn't be too different for you. But then again, I really know nothing about _this_." Sam looked lost for a moment.

When I thought again about phasing, I thought of the other things the guys went through and immediately looked down at my clothes and started laughing. Guess I'm probably going to be clothes shopping more. Ugh. I looked up and saw Sam and Jacob both staring at me.

"Sorry, I was just uh... Thinking about my clothes." They still didn't seem to get it. "Well, from what I've seen with you guys, you seem go through a lot of clothes and shoes. I was just thinking about how much of my clothes I will ruin," I told them, still laughing and they laughed too.

"Yeah, you may want to carry spares around with you, just in case," Sam said.

I suddenly realized I've never heard Sam laugh so much and he has never been this nice to me. Guess things really have changed.

As we stood there laughing, I really hated to ruin the moment with more serious talk. It was nice to be able to laugh about this. I wanted to know more; well actually, I needed to know more. I needed to know _why_ it was happening, now that I knew _what_ _it_ was.

"So, do you know why this is happening? No one has answered _that_ yet. Actually, no one answered the first part either, but I figured that out. Thanks," I said, walking over to sit back on the couch.

Jacob followed and sat next to me. He held my hand, which for some reason seemed weird. Sam went over and sat in a chair across from us, looking serious again.

"We're not positive. As my dad told you, this _was_ in the legends, but no one believed it, which seems really stupid now," Jacob said looking down at our hands. "From what I remember of it, it was something like: the leader of the pack, no specific generation, at any point could imprint on someone who may be able to imprint back on them. The thing with that is the girl wouldn't be one of us, meaning from the rez, and the imprint would actually cause her to turn into a werewolf too. All the details were lost and I may even have it wrong. But, that seems to be what is happening here. You're not from here, and yet it's happening to you." Jacob was completely lost in thought now.

No surprise, but I wasn't understanding it all. It all sounded like a foreign language to me. I'd heard the stories of the legends once before at a bonfire a while back, but this one wasn't included. I wonder if they _all _had thought it was a joke. Well, I had news for them- it's not.

"That seems to sum it up, well in a way. Again, we're not really sure and it may take a while to figure it all out and have the exact reasons. But as Jake said, that's what's happening, so now we know it's true. Unfortunately, now that it has, well... we're pretty much clueless." Sam looked upset; I could tell he didn't like having something happen that he knew nothing about.

"I thought if it was real, maybe it would have skipped," Jacob said suddenly.

"What?" I asked, shifting a little to the side to look at him. He looked sad again.

"I'm not the Alpha," he said in a soft voice and I knew he was blaming himself again.

I gave his hand a tight squeeze and he looked up at me, showing a slight smile.

"Jake..." I started, but didn't know if I should say anything. I did anyways. "It's in your blood. I don't think it matters who you give up being Alpha to, it's still in you," I told him, looking directly into his eyes. His smile seemed to grow a little.

"You know, you're taking this a lot better than I did," he said, giving my hand a squeeze back.

"Well, I've had time to deal with it first. Of course, I never knew that _this_ might happen, but I knew how and why it did for you and a lot of the other stuff that comes along with it. I guess you can say I had some time to prepare for it all." I laughed a little lightly and looked down at the floor. I didn't know what else to say.

"True." Was all he said.

We both looked up at Sam and he seemed to be thinking again.

"Well, at least maybe that part makes sense," he said and laughed a little, with hardly any humor. "Like I said, we'll have to talk about this some more and see what we can come up with. We'll get together for a meeting tonight to discuss it." He looked up to meet my eyes. "You will be there too." And I gave him a nod.

I was nervous now that I knew I had to phase, not just that I was going to, but that I had to and at a meeting. I would be with the rest of them, all in wolf form. I got a little scared again.

Sam had left after he mentioned the time he wanted us all to get together. Jacob and I just curled up on the couch, trying to find anything else to talk about. That was hard. But it was nice at how natural things seemed to be with us.

"Where'd Billy go?" I asked after we sat in silence a while.

For once, when I wanted someone to talk, talk about anything at all, even the weather if it had to be, neither of us knew what to say. The subject of what was happening seemed to make everything else seem way less important and I tried not to think about other things that I knew I had to deal with sooner or later.

"He's uh, with Charlie," he said and my nerves kicked in. "You know he won't say anything to him."

"Yeah, I know. It's just weird thinking about having to pretend to have things normal. I mean, I'm used to hiding certain things from him of course, but this is about me and that might be harder."

"Yeah, but you have to and I know you can handle it."

He kissed me softly on the cheek and that fiery feeling returned. I twisted to put my feet on the floor. He raised an eyebrow at me and I laughed an obviously nervous laugh.

"I think I should go home for a while," I said trying to change the subject and Jacob seemed to disagree.

"I think you should stay here. At least until we figure out what to do," he said, his tone very serious.

"I know, but Charlie should be home soon and last I remembered the house looks like a mess. I need to take my mind of this for a while and cleaning the house might help. Besides, I know when he gets home he'll be hungry."

"Well..." he tried to argue, but he couldn't. He knew how I was and he understood.

"Ok well, just in case, call me when I need to head back over," I told him while standing up.

"Alright. Actually, I was thinking about maybe coming over later. I was going to ask Sam if we can put if off until Charlie goes to bed. He might get too suspicious if you come back over after dinner for a couple hours after spending all day here."

"Well, we'll see. I don't know if I can sneak out and get the truck started without him hearing. It's not the quietest you know," I said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, actually, I was thinking about you just staying home for it and going out-" I knew what he was saying and I wasn't about to phase on my own.

"Jake, I'm not doing this on my own. I mean the first time, I don't want to be alone," I told him, just a little on the verge of panic. Things were happening too fast and I could feel it wearing on me.

"No, of course not. I was going to come over to be with you. We don't always have to be in a group together during meetings and I was thinking about asking Sam that, for at least tonight."

"Ok, well... Let me think about it?" I asked.

"Ok," he said and he smiled.

He reached up and gave me a tight hug, well as tight as he could since he was still hurting and I thought of another problem.

"Uh... You can't phase," I told him and he froze with his arms still around me.

"Damnit! I completely forgot about that. Well damn, I don't know then. So that means I can't go to the meeting." He loosened his arms a little to look at me. Looked like I _would_ have to do this on my own.

"Well, like I said, I'll go home now, get things cleaned up, while you talk to Sam and figure things out. Plus, I think I may want to take a nap now that I think about it." The day had felt so long already.

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After I had finally left Jacob's house, once again taking longer than it should have, I was going over everything in my head while I drove. I was definitely looking forward to that nap and some Tylenol, but as I drove a little further I realized that wasn't going to happen any time soon- just my luck.

As I was turning around a corner, just leaving La Push, something shining up ahead caught my eye. I was too far away to tell what it was, but I knew and there was no doubting it. Edward. The day was just about to get even longer.

Sure enough, the closer I got, the more clearly I could see it was his silver Volvo parked on the side of the road. My heart beat sped up and I knew I was on the verge of that panic attack.

How was I going to do this and _now_? How can I explain everything to him when I don't even really know? I just wanted to slam my foot on the gas and turn around, back to Jake's, as fast as I could, but I knew this damn truck wouldn't get me very far and I knew he already saw me.

Before I had even finished thinking, I was getting closer and slowly to a stop. I pulled over on the side of the road, but didn't get out. I should have just drop past him, but that was rude and I had done enough to him already. Plus, if he really wanted to talk, he could probably beat me home.

It seemed like about five minutes had passed before I saw his door open. I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest; I did not want to do this. Not right now.

Once I saw him get out slowly, I pried my hands off the steering wheel, which was actually now a little mangled looking, and started to get out. I left the door open , just in case, and walked to the front of my truck. I knew Edward wouldn't hurt me, well at least I hoped he wouldn't now, but after everything lately, I didn't know what to expect anymore. The dream didn't help.

"Bella," Edward said, walking up to me. Slowly and graceful as always. He didn't look mad, but he was good at hiding his emotions. Another thing that bugged me about him.

"Edward." I said nervously. This was _not_ starting out well.

We just stood there staring at each other, but after a minute I looked away towards the trees. I have never wanted to avoid something so badly in my life. I would give anything to have stuck to my original plans and my body really needed that nap.

"You don't want to talk to me?" he asked suddenly.

"Don't know how," I told him, still looking away.

"And why is that?"

"Complicated." I mumbled, trying not to cry. This was way harder than I had thought.

"How so?"

"I-It just is." Trying to hold back the tears was causing me to stutter. _Way, Way harder_. I thought.

"Care to explain more?"

He was being so calm; I think that was what caused me to lose it. The tears started pouring and I was fighting the urge to collapse on the ground, my weak knees didn't want to hold me up anymore.

"Bella?" he asked softly, taking a step closer to me and I took a step back. _I really hope he doesn't lunge at me_. I thought, looking up at his face and he was still calm.

"Oh Edward, I'm sorry. So, so sorry," I blurted out like an idiot, but knew nothing else to say.

"Why? For what?" he asked.

Why? Why did he always have to be so calm when he really should be ready to start screaming at me. I was prepared for that, but not for this. I don't know why, but it always surprises me when he, once again, accepts me when I do something wrong.

When I didn't talk, he continued.

"For leaving me and not coming back?" he asked and I jerked my head back up to look at him. I regretted it. Not only was he calm, but he was... understanding?

"Uh, something along that yeah," I said.

"Bella, I think I know why," he said, surprising me, again.

"W-What?"

"Imprint."

I was completely shocked. "_You know?_ " I asked.

"Well yes. I heard it in his thoughts when I walked passed him, coming back to you." He said, moving slightly to lean next to me against my truck. I didn't want him to be next to him, but least I didn't have to look at him.

I was a little relieved he didn't know about my part in the imprint. But very little. I was sort of hoping I wouldn't have to _tell_ him. "Oh." Was all I got out.

"Yes. And I know about Alice's vision as well." Of course he did.

"Yeah."

"You should have told me. I don't like it and I don't understand why it didn't happen before, but..." he didn't finish.

A million different thoughts flashed through my head. The weight of it all was incredibly heavy and my legs wouldn't hold me up anymore, so I slowly slid down to the ground.

"There's more." I told him and I could feel his eyes on me.

"Oh?"

"Yep. A lot more."

"Tell me." He said, almost a whisper.

"I don't know if I can."

He slid down next to me on the ground, only he was more in front of me, so I had to look at him.

"Edward, I can't."

"Please try. Don't I have a right to know? A right to know why else I can no longer be with my fiancé?"

And that crushed me. The tears that were falling slowly came gushing out with deep rough sobs. I brought my hands up to cover my face and he moved them. His skin was a lot colder than before and that made things too real again. I wasn't the only one who noticed there was a difference because he dropped his hand from mine and just looked at me, confused.

"_So much_ has changed. I've changed. Almost impossibly, but I have." I mumbled, trying hard to too look away from his gaze.

Instead of talking, he just sat up straight and stiff, not moving, not doing anything.

"What happened?" he asked, all calm gone and replaced by complete coldness. He was taking this seriously now.

"Something...." I didn't know how to put it into words. I could hardly remember everything I had heard today. "Something the legends left out. Something about the pack leader and something about a girl..." I couldn't finish.

"What happens?"

"The human girl somehow imprints on the wolf as the wolf imprints on the girl, all causing her to become one of them." I blurted out, but added more. "They all thought it wasn't real, nothing to keep passed along. The last time it had happened was so long ago, no one alive now believed it, or knew of any trace of it being real. They don't-" he cut me off before I could ramble anymore.

"_You _imprinted?"

"Yes." The shock was now in his face and he actually looked like he wanted to laugh.

So there it was, the expression I was waiting for all day. Instead of taking me seriously he thought I was joking and was crazy. Don't have to be a mind reader to figure that one out. And he actually did laugh.

"You're joking?" he asked, still laughing.

"Do I look like it?" I told him and he stopped laughing, shock returning.

"W-" he started to say.

"No clue. None of us know. We just know it's happening." I said, cutting him off.

He just sat in silence for a few minutes and I gave him time to think it through. Mainly because I was all out of things to say, though I knew I should say something else.

"It doesn't make sense." He said suddenly.

"Yeah, I know. But it's real." I told him, trying to convince the both of us.

"But how? I mean you told me about the legend part, I get that. But really, how? How does it affect you? How do you not go through it the way they did, or is that coming? I've seen it in their heads, they all still think of it from time to time, the process you go through to develop, or whatever they call it."

He had a point. I never really thought of that. I remembered back when Jake had first changed, he sounded like he was horribly sick for days, even tried to pass it off as mono, I wasn't even allowed to see him, because of it. How come I wasn't sick or achy? Why don't I feel the way he described it to me? At least _that_ would make it more real.

"I don't know."

He stared at me for a moment then looked away, shaking his head. What else was I supposed to say? What else is there for me to do? I just waited for him to talk.

"You're sure about this?" he asked.

"Oh yes."

"How sure?"

"Well let's see... I've almost phased twice, I've almost broke things that I could barely make budge before, I ran too fast, I hear things that are too far away, I'm standing here with no jacket and I'm not cold, and well... I don't know. I'm not making this up and I didn't choose this." I was getting mad now. He still didn't believe me. Why in the hell would I make something like this up? I needed to stop this; it wasn't the right time to make me mad.

He still wasn't looking at me and I got tired of trying to make him believe. I got up and tried to walk back to my truck. I got halfway there and he was suddenly standing in front of me, staring at me.

"So this, us, it's over." He said. It wasn't a question.

I looked down and the tears to trying to sneak up again. It just wasn't getting any easier. "Yes."

"There's no hope-"

"Edward, as I said. I didn't choose this and it's not something I can walk away from, not even if I wanted too. I'm truly sorry. You have no _idea _how sorry I am." Once again I couldn't stop the tears.

He stepped towards me and tried to put his arm around me. I put one hand up and backed away a little.

"Don't. Just... don't." I said, sniffling.

"Can't even if it's meant as a friend?"

He really was making this so much harder. I think it would have been easier if he was mad. Being so calm, so understanding it was almost torture. Here I was, telling him I couldn't be with him anymore after everything and _he_ wanted to give _me_ a hug. Nope, nothing makes sense anymore.

"I think it would be better if you didn't. This is just hard Edward and I wish you would just be mad at me, that's more reasonable, but you're so... I don't know the word for it, but it's making it harder. Actually that's ok, it should be worse for me. One morning I'm perfectly happy with you, couldn't wait for a future with you and bam , I get kissed by someone else and I imprint and I'm happy about it! I shouldn't have even been able to _do _that! And I don't even know how I did it! Everything is just one big mess of questions and I don't know how I can be so happy and so sad at the same time. It makes me so damn mad I could scream!" I was yelling and it started again.

One moment I was there pacing back and forth at the side of my truck yelling about everything and the next moment I felt so much anger and rage that I could almost taste it, everything turned into a blur. The fire started again, from my bones working its way out, spreading everywhere burning and itching. It was _so_ much worse than before, more painful than I would have ever imagined. I realized the vibrations caused the blur. I couldn't see Edward anymore, all I could see was red. I tried fighting it, but as soon as I almost did I thought about what Sam had said and somehow that took more control over my own thoughts. It was too late. The anger had built up so much that I was about to explode and I think I actually did.

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A/N: Let me know what you're thinking.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

So there I was, standing the middle of the road still angry, but more than that, I was terrified. There was no denying it now. I felt huge, hot, and... hairy. I was a wolf. I couldn't believe it only took a few seconds to get to this point, it was the longest seconds of my life. And it actually did feel like I had exploded. As if this wolf, that I was, had literally exploded out of my skin. It was... _Wow._

Before I realized what I was doing, Edward was leaning against my truck and I was in right front of him, growling. Well, that's just wonderful. _You break up with him, you're so upset about hurting him and the things that have happened, that you turn into a wolf and now... _Well, I don't know what I was doing exactly, but it was pretty clear that he thought I was about to kill him. Why didn't he move? Surely he had plenty of time to.

I tried to talk stupidly forgetting that I couldn't, it came out as some weird yelping sound. The way he stared at me was like maybe he was trying to hear me, not my words, but my thoughts.

_Can you hear me?_ I thought him, but he didn't do anything but stare.

Ok well, that answered my question. I was still the same. The problem also, I couldn't hear anyone; I was completely alone in this form. I was terrified all over again.

I backed up from him, not sure what to do, but I couldn't stay like this. I tried as hard as I could to change back, but I couldn't, I was too upset still. It was still the afternoon and I was still standing in the middle of the road. Problem there, I was a _huge_ wolf. I had no way of communicating with him, and I couldn't change back. I guess I was lucky I knew so much about this before, lucky Jacob had talked to me so much about it, otherwise it would have been so much worse. That was actually hard to imagine.

After a moment of thinking I was actually kind of glad that I didn't change back, I forgot that my clothes were now in shredded pieces on the ground and I would have been naked. If I had had skin at the moment, it would have been bright red from thinking of it.

My huge head darted back and forth trying to decide what to do. Not many cars came down this road, but it was only matter of time before someone did. I looked at Edward again; he looked just about as confused as I felt. And sad. I whimpered involuntarily, spotted a break in the trees and ran as fast as I could, and boy was it fast, to get as far as I could away from Edward. I would just have to get my truck later.

After running for what felt like forever, I stopped in the middle of a meadow and felt even that was too out in the open. I walked back a little to hide inside some bushes and decided to lie down. I thought a lot and I thought hard. I had no idea what to do. Surely I couldn't just run back to Jake's house, could I? I knew they could hear each other's thoughts when they were phased and they could kind of feel each other. I couldn't hear or feel anyone.

I was so mad at myself. I needed to talk to Edward more, but I had gotten so upset that I blew my chances. Well, least now he believed me and what else was I supposed to do once I phased? He couldn't understand me and I wasn't about to stand there and risk getting noticed. That's just what the pack needed- me to come along and reveal them.

After an hour of waiting for something or someone, anything at all really, nothing happened. No voices had popped in my head and no one showed up in the woods. At first I thought that maybe no one else was in wolf form, but as I remember correctly, someone always was, just in case.

I gave up and decided that the only thing there was to do was go back to Jake. There was enough trees for me to get there safely. I got up slowly, still not used to being in my new form, and ran to the house. Luckily I wasn't too far away; I seemed to be able to follow scents and sure enough that worked.

Once the house was in sight, I suddenly came to a new problem. How was I going to get to him. What was I supposed to do, trot up to his door and knock my head against it hoping Jake would be the one to answer it? Then what? After a few moments of thinking, I realized the best thing I can do is give a little howl, and hope he is home to hear it. I'm sure he'll recognize the sound enough to follow it.

So I did, I howled. It oddly felt natural, but then again, what did I expect? I waited for minutes, listening for anything that I might have attracted. I suddenly hear someone say, "What the hell" and realized it worked, Jake was on his way out.

I was sitting in a grouping of trees right behind his garage. When he rounded the corner he came to a complete stop in from of me, shocked and his wide eyes froze on me. Again, not knowing what to do, that whimpering sound came out again and I ducked my head, and laid down.

"B-Bella?" he said. I have never heard him stutter before. Well didn't that make me feel better.

I raised my head a little and nodded. At least I could do that much.

"_Wow,_" he mouthed, as if he hadn't believed it until then.

I dropped my head to the ground again and wished I could talk.

"Well, uh...." He paused, shock was being slowly replaced my curiosity. "Stay here, I'll go call Sam."

He didn't wait for me to do anything, he just walked back into the house and I did as I was told, like the dog that I now was. Jeez.

He returned after a couple more minutes. I had no real judge of time in this form and I didn't really like it.

"He's on his way. Can you hear him yet?"

I was confused, then I remembered. I should have been able to hear them, but I couldn't. I shook my head. He looked confused.

"Can't you hear anyone?" he asked and I shook my head again.

"Wow, uh..."

Great, just what I needed. More for them to not understand.

Suddenly, while Jacob was deep in thought, a wolf appeared to my right and out of instinct I crouched down and growled.

"Bella, calm down. It's just Sam," he said and I did, while I sat down.

Sam looked at Jake. I thought he was shaking his head, but when Jake nodded and Sam walked away, it was clear Sam was telling him what he was doing. A second later Sam walked backed back, human again. I was glad he didn't just change right there, though I'm sure a thought of _my_ new Alpha naked was the last thing I should have been thinking about. Boy was I glad they couldn't hear my thoughts right then.

"What's going on Jake?" Sam asked him.

"I'm not really sure exactly," Jake barely said.

"What made her phase?"

"Don't know. She went home and about two hours later she came back like this," he said waving a hand towards me. Great. I'm a _this_ now.

"What do you mean?" Sam was mad now.

"She wanted to go home and wanted to be distracted. Charlie would've been going home soon after fishing with Billy and she wanted the house clean for him." Jake shrugged.

"You shouldn't have let her leave," he practically growled at him.

Without a second thought, I stood up and was growling back at Sam, lips curled back with my teeth showing. They were talking about me like I wasn't there. Sure, I wasn't human at the moment and I couldn't speak, but hey I was definitely there. Besides, he had no reason to yell at Jake like that.

Sam froze and so did Jake.

"It's ok Bells," Jake said, but he didn't sound so sure himself.

Sam took a moment to calm himself. "What happened?" he asked me.

Well I really hoped he wasn't counting on me answering, because I was really in no position to. As quickly as he had asked, a thousand questions flashed across his face.

"Wait, why couldn't I hear her? Why didn't she know it was me walking up?" he asked suddenly. I whimpered again and sat back down.

"Don't know. Uh, how are we going to get her to phase back?" Jake looked at me. "Can you?" he asked.

I tried, I didn't want to in front of them, but I did try. Nothing. I shook my head. Maybe I wasn't doing it right.

"Well damn. What do we do?" Jake asked Sam.

"I don't know, she must not be calm enough. But we also need to know what happened to make her change too. Is Billy home?"

"Yeah, he got home about an hour ago."

"So Charlie is home," Sam said.

"I'd assume so. I was asleep," Jake looked worried.

I made that whimpering sound again. I was tired of this being my only real way to communicate, but whatever worked I guess.

"What?" Sam asked.

I shook my head

"I don't know what she's trying to say," Sam said and looked at Jake.

I looked at Jake this time and shook my head again. I looked in the direction of my house and back at him, then shook my head again.

"Uh... I think she's trying to say something about Charlie." I could always count on Jake to get me. I nodded. "Have you seen Charlie?" I shook my head. A new thought lightened his expression. "Did you even make it home?" _Finally._ I shook my head. They both looked at each other and Sam serious, Jake shrugged.

Ok, more body language I guess. I looked in the direction my truck should have been, stood up and looked at Sam, then looked back, walking towards it a little. I hope he would get that I wanted him to follow me. I repeated the movement. I suddenly had a whole new respect for dogs now.

"Follow-" Jake started to say, but Sam cut him off.

"I'll follow and the rest of the pack will meet here. Guess the meeting is moved up," Sam said, walking back into the woods, coming back as a wolf.

Jake walked over to me, "It'll be ok Bells. We'll figure this out," he said, stroking the back of my neck. It felt too weird. I nodded and took off running towards my truck, Sam following, howling as we got a little farther out.

When we got there, thankfully it was parked there alone. My nose burned a little and I suddenly realized what Jake had meant about the vampire smell. Ouch. My truck reeked of it. At least Edward had closed my door.

I could tell Sam noticed the smell too, because he looked at me and it looked like he suddenly understood. He nodded once and darted his head towards the house again and we ran back to Jake's, meeting another wolf halfway.

I couldn't tell who it was, but they stared at me, eyes full of surprise. Whoever it was nodded once and headed toward the trees closest to my truck. He must have been there to get my truck.

We continued back to the house and when we got there, there were five other wolves there. I slowed to a stop a little behind Sam and he continued to stand with them. All of their eyes stared at me, filled with surprise like the other wolf had. Guess they were just told who I was and probably that they wouldn't be able to hear me.

While I was still a little far from them, I decided to try to change back. I focused as hard as I could. I thought about changing, sort of willing my body to become human again. I felt a slow tingle through every bone in my body, slightly shaking and things blurred a little again. Before I really thought about it, I was standing there, naked and completely sore from head to toe, deep into my bones. Ok, that wasn't _too_ hard.

I could hear Jake still not too far away and hoped he would have something I could throw on.

"Jake," I called out, my voice kind of croaked.

"Bella?" he asked and I could hear him running to me.

"Uh, don't come too close," I told him.

"Why? Oh," he said and laughed.

"Yeah uh..."

"I'll be right back," he said and I heard him laugh until he was too far away. I didn't think that was so funny.

I could hear him telling them I phased back and not to come near me. I was thankful for that. I don't think I could have handled them all seeing me there naked. Then it occurred to me that someday they might. _Ugh._

About four minutes later Jake returned.

"It's not much and they're probably too big, but I guess it's better than nothing," he said, laughing again and tossed me the clothes.

"Yeah, a lot better than _nothing_. Thanks," I said

It was just a big t-shirt and a pair of sweats. At least there was a draw-string that would allow me to tighten the waist anyways.

After I put them on, I slowly walked out to the pack and stopped to stand next to Jake, folding my arms across my chest. Every set of eyes followed my every move. I felt very uncomfortable, but I looked up at Jake and he smiled. It must not have been too bad. After all, this _was_ a lot to try to understand.

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A/N: So, what do you think about the phasing? Did I do ok on that part overall? Reviews please =) They help keep me going.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I didn't really know what to expect, didn't think so much of the pack would have been there, but I don't know why I thought otherwise. I wished Jake could phase so maybe he could have helped me, but he still wouldn't be able to for a while. I also didn't want to phase again to try harder to hear them. It hurt really bad and I hoped the second time wouldn't be so bad, but I didn't care to find out any time soon.

Sam had walked away and then returned in human form. The pack members separated and walked back into the trees. It was time to take things seriously again.

"They're going to phase back too so you can hear them and we're going to try and figure out why you somehow can't." Sam sounded so serious, it was hard to imagine the Sam from earlier again, laughing and acting normal.

I started wondering if something was wrong with me, besides the obvious. I couldn't hear them, they couldn't hear me. After a minute, a strange idea came into my mind. Even though I could change, I was now a werewolf too, what if that wasn't enough. What if I'm not a true member of the pack? That had to be the only reason we couldn't hear each other, the only reason I could think of anyways.

When they all returned, I told them that. They all remained serious, but one voice surprised me a little.

"I could feel her," he said and I looked at him curiously. He turned to look directly at me and continued. "I could feel you there with us, even thought I couldn't _hear_ you. It didn't make any sense." They all seemed to agree on that. "I realized it first when you phased out, I could hear it like I could hear anyone else phase out. It also made me think... Something was blocking it... you, from communicating."

Sam had a sudden thought. I could see his face brighten a little bit. He had realized something that I had thought about earlier, but forgot all about.

"Edward can't hear your thoughts, but he can hear everyone else's right?" he asked. "Maybe that is blocking you from us too. Not just the vampires."

"Yeah, just like the other vampires I've met, they can do some pretty powerful things, but they have no effect on me either. Like I can somehow block access to my brain," I said with a very little laugh. It was becoming a little clearer, though not really better, they still can't hear me. I wondered if I tried though, I mean, I never _tried_ to let Edward read my thoughts. Maybe I could have turned off the blocker?

"I've got an idea," I told them instantly. "But I need one other person to phase with me."

Jacob looked at me with slight disapproval. I ignored him.

"I'll do it," Sam said, walking back into the trees. I went back to where I had gotten dressed.

Once I had gotten all my clothes off, I stood there wondering if I could remember how to phase. I started the same process I had for turning back into human form, and forced it to happen. It was just as shocking as before, but oddly a lot less painful.

Once I was phased, I walked back over to the pack to meet Sam there. We got there at the same time and everyone continued their staring. I didn't understand what the deal was, but ignored them and focused on Sam.

I looked at Sam and thought only about him. I tried forcing my thoughts to him.

_Hey Sam, are you there?_ I repeated over and over in my head, it felt like about fifty times, until I couldn't bear to say it again. My head was throbbing, though it didn't feel like any headache I had ever had before.

_Sam? _ I said one last time.

_Bella? _He sounded just as surprised as I felt. _It worked?_

_Oh my, I guess it did, wow. _This had to be the weirdest thing, besides the actual phasing, that I had ever felt.

_Phase back and explain._

I could, not only hear, but I could see what he was thinking. It was amazing. I could see him looking at me. _Wow._ I had reddish brown fur, mixed with some white and grey. It was an odd mixture, but it looked pretty cool. _That's me?_ I thought as I looked closer at myself and I could tell that my eyes were still _my _eyes. I was even more amazed. It all happened in a matter of seconds.

_Bella. _Sam snapped me back to the here and now.

_Ok, ok sorry._ And I trotted back over to my area to change back. Phasing back was easier too.

After I had finished dressing and got back over to the group to retake my place by Jake, Sam walked over to me laughing lightly.

"What?" I asked, confused and I almost forgot to use my mouth.

"You," he said and I raised an eyebrow. "You're so calm." he continued to laugh.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked after he was silent for so long.

"Well she found a way to let me inside her head, somehow. I heard her observing herself and she was pleased to find she looked good as a wolf." And he laughed again, along with several other people. I laughed a little too. But he got serious after that. "How did you do it?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. I just focused on you and stopped if from blocking you, only I don't think it stopped I think it... expanded? I don't know how to explain it. " I paused for a moment thinking about it, all, trying to see exactly how I had done it. Then Sam interrupted.

"I think I could feel that," he said and I was surprised yet again.

"Huh?"

"I think I felt what you did, like a bubble? Something wrapped around me and I was suddenly seeing what you were seeing and hearing you clearly, I got a head full of how focused you were. I didn't answer you at first; I had to do some focusing of my own."

I was frozen for a moment. I didn't think he would have been able to feel that, but a bubble described it perfectly. Everyone was staring at me, surprised and confused. This whole staring at me thing was starting to get old.

This time Leah spoke up, she was never as polite as the others, this time no exception.

"Why the hell is this all happening? Why _her?_" she said, sounding slightly disgusted.

Leah was never fond of me and that was putting in lightly. She only saw me as the "leech lover" as most of them had. That was the only way to describe her reaction to me now.

Sam was explaining it all to them and I had forgotten they didn't really know all the details of what happened with me, probably just what they picked up from his head, which I now realize can be a jumbled mess.

I ignored most of the conversation since I had hear it all over and over and it still didn't make much sense to me, so I thought about the blockage more. I wondered if I was going to have to individually let them all in, or if I focused on one would that work on all. I hoped I wouldn't have to do that every time I phased, that would get annoying fast. I guess I would just have to figure that out the next time we were all phased.

I was brought back to the discussion suddenly when I heard a different topic.

"There will be a council meeting tonight," Sam said and I looked back over to him. "I don't know when right now, but I will let you know of course, keep your ears open. But for now, you can just go back to your normal day routines and wait."

That must have also been a sign to leave, but I needed to ask a question before Sam disappeared.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"Well, I can't go home obviously, at least not tonight. And I know for sure Charlie won't let me stay at Jake's."

After a few moment of thinking that over, he came up with something. "You can stay at Leah's." and I didn't like that one bit, neither did she, but he had that Alpha tone and there was no arguing. _That _was not going to be easy to get used to.

"You can just stay at Jake's house for as long as you want. I could really care less." Leah said and started to walk away, but caught Sam's glare. "Ugh, fine. Come home with me after the meeting." She stomped away.

Well this was going to be a fun night.

I went back with Jake to his house; we still had some time to spend together alone and had no idea what to do. I decided to call Charlie first, before anything, to get that out of the way.

"Hello?" Charlie answered, sounding half asleep.

"Sorry Dad, did I wake you up?"

"Uh yeah. What's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you would mind if I stayed at Leah's tonight."

He didn't reply at first and I knew this is where the explaining would come in. He knew I wasn't friends with Leah, but hey that could always change. Ha! Yeah right.

"Leah Clearwater?" he asked, unsure.

"Yep."

"Why?" he sounded suspicious now.

"Well, uh..." I ran several different idea through my head, but only one I knew would work for sure. "It's girl stuff Dad." He hated when I brought up girl stuff, so I knew he would avoid it anyway he could.

"Oh, right. Ok well then... You'll be back sometime tomorrow then?"

"Yeah." I told him, though I really had no idea. Surely I would have to go back sometime, but somewhere in the back of my head, I was scared to.

"Ok, see you tomorrow then," he said followed by a yawn.

"See you." I said and hung up the phone.

I stood there for a few minutes, no clue what to do next. I saw Jake watching me from the couch with a smile, so I walked back over to him and plopped on the couch with a heavy sigh.

"Now what's wrong?" he asked, fighting back a laugh.

"Nothing new I guess."

"Oh."

"Yeah, just a very long day," I said, fighting a yawn and failed.

"Why don't you get some sleep. It may be a while before Sam calls us and you'll hear the call." He put his arm around me and pulled me against him.

"You sure it's a good idea?" I asked, thought I didn't really care. I was ready to pass out. My whole body was aching and it was becoming more than I could handle, especially if I had to sit through a meeting later.

"Yes." Was all he said.

I moved down on the couch and rested my head on his lap. He settled in a little more and began stroking my hair slowly. It felt so good to stretch out and relax, that I fell asleep within seconds.

***

As soon as it as was dark, I heard the signal. One, loud howl from Sam was all we needed to know that it was time for the meeting. We didn't phase, thankfully, since the members on the council couldn't. We walked all the way up to the top of the cliff. It was the same cliff that the happy little bonfire had been on when I first heard the legends.

Well, tonight... We were all about to learn something new. I was actually excited. I just smiled at Jake as he took my hand and we found a place to sit down. It was easy to forget why we were here, because of me, and just enjoy the scene.

I looked around at everyone and I realized I knew almost everyone there. The entire pack was there and I could see Billy, Quil's grandfather, Sue Clearwater, Emily, and a few other people I had never seen before.

It was the biggest gathering I had ever been to in such a small area. They all seemed so comfortable with each other, though I was one of them I guess, I still felt like an outcast. I really hoped that that would change soon. I mean, there really is no way to get around all of this.

To start, would settle for them to all stop staring at me like I had donethis _to_ them. If anything, it was _their_ legends that did it to_ me._ That topic would have be saved for a conversation on a different day.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok well, I think I'm going to post another one after this since the site was screwed up almost all day yesterday and most of today. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

**_EDIT_:** I take that back, I think I will wait till FF fixes the site before I post again. It's letting me do more than yesterday, but certain things still aren't working. When it's back up and running the correctly, I will make up for lost time. =) Thanks for all the great reviews!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jake and I sat up against a tree. I was leaning against him, still tired, but awake enough to pay attention. I didn't want to be the focus of the attention anymore, though I knew that was unavoidable. After a while people started to look away from me and I felt a little better. One look I couldn't forget though was Emily's. She didn't look at me quite as friendly like she had used to and it hurt a little. I'd thought, she of all people would have accepted this. At least better than most, but I guess I was wrong.

As everyone stopped talking and started focusing to the grouping up front, Old Quil, Quil's grandfather, started to talk.

"We are all gathered here now, because of something that has happened. Something amazing. It was wrong of us to exclude that part of the legends for whatever reason, but the main thing now is, it's real and it's happened. I know many of you have not gotten the chance to hear this Legend and that is why we are here, so I will tell it now."

There was a brief pause before he continued and everyone remained completely quiet. I could almost feel everyone's attention click on to being focused on what he was about it say. It was still amazing the amount of authority the council had over everyone.

**"**The Legend was told that a pack leader, no specific leader, could meet a special human girl and fall in love. We are still unsure of what special really means.

"At some point, during their first real kiss, meaning they both had to have wanted it, a bond begins to build, on both sides. They will both imprint. This certain imprint is different from the other kind; this imprint gives power to the human girl, causing her to become a werewolf. The change is different from our kind; hers is almost immediate, sometimes happening within seconds, or longer depending on the girl. She will gain all the same extra abilities as you; great strength, speed, hearing, and the warmth, but all happening before the first phase. Her first phase will be painful, but after that, it is all complete. She becomes one of us in every way.

"Some never found out the real reasons behind it. Whether it was to make the pack stronger, because she becomes just as powerful as the leader, or if it was because there was something horrible lurking not too far behind that causes it to happen. Many have assumed that if this was really true, then maybe things weren't ever really bad enough for this to happen to the other girls over the generations, or maybe she just didn't hold the power within herself. Since it _is_ a very rare thing, the truth of that may never be found out, and maybe it's all of that. But either way, we see now today, that this legend was most definitely true."

I was completely frozen. It had sounded just like everything Sam and Jake had said, but hearing it all at once, from someone who knew about it, it just made it that much more believable. Old Quil turned to me with a slight smile.

"We welcome Bella to our pack today."

I had no idea what to do. Was I supposed to stand up, bow, smile, say hi, or even thank them? I just held still and barely smiled. That was beyond awkward.

I was met by only a few welcoming, staring eyes. The rest were confused, angry, and guarded all at once. I couldn't blame them, surely they believed the legend was true now, but I could tell they didn't believe the intentions of it. Maybe it wasn't believed, because it did mean something horrible was coming. Whether they were confused it was me that was chosen to become this, or the fact other things may get bad, I had no clue.

Billy spoke next and I was truly grateful.

"Now I'm sure many of you have questions about this and now would be a good time to ask them," he said.

It was like I was in school again, hands shot up all over the place. So many questions and I couldn't think coherently enough to form even one of mine.

Billy chose Paul to ask his question first.

"So why Bella?" he asked, and I was a little offended.

"That's easy Paul. Jacob loved her, as she loved him. That's obvious, seeing what has become of that," Billy answered, sounding annoyed. Paul just grunted and folded his arms across his chest. "But what's so special about her?" he spit out. But he was glared at by both Sam and Billy, so he stayed quiet and looked down.

I noticed some hands dropped down after Billy had answered. Either they had the same question, or suddenly didn't want to ask theirs. My own questions slowed a little, but neither were clear enough to speak.

"So what does this mean? What's going to happen now? I know you said that no one knows the real reason to why this happens, but if it's because something bad is coming, what could it be?" Quil asked suddenly.

That had been one of my many questions and I was glad he asked, but scared to hear the answer. Whatever might have been coming, I knew wouldn't be good. I couldn't even guess, but somehow, in the back of my head, I thought it might be coming for me. Everything else usually did.

"The reasoning still isn't clear," Old Quil agreed. "If it does mean something is about to come, I'm sure whatever it is will be handled, but I do not have any idea to what that may be."

Everyone was silent for a moment. I was thinking about what could happen. What could be so bad, that it made me, a human and non-Quileute, become this. Seth interrupted my thoughts.

"What about the Cullens?" he asked suddenly. My jaw dropped. I didn't think anyone would have brought them up, but I had forgotten that Seth had become quite close to Edward after that battle with Victoria and Riley. Leave it to him to worry about them.

"What does it matter?" I heard several people say at once.

"Well, I just meant that... What will they do, if anything? I know this wasn't in the treaty, but what if they react towards it? What if Edward does?"

I hadn't thought about that. I hadn't be able to get past Edward's reaction to think about what he may do. What if he was planning on attacking? What if they all were? I just shook my head and I realized that several eyes were focused on me again.

"_Don't look at me_!" I shouted. I was mad that they still assumed that I knew what Edwards plans were. I may have known if I hadn't phased, but I did and Edward was gone before I had returned with Sam. "I have no clue what he could plan to do, hell I don't even care at the moment. He was gone after I phased." I told them honestly.

I remembered then that I hadn't explained to Jake or Sam what exactly happened with what caused me to phase at that time. They just assumed they knew and Sam had Edwards scent from the area, but no details. Their eyes were locked on me, expecting me to continue.

I sat up straight, preparing myself to speak and I felt Jake's hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and he eyed the group of people nervously. I realized then that I was starting to shake again as I felt the slight burn. I took a deep breath, calming myself, and it stopped.

"Ok so, I was heading home earlier, but right when I got to, what I guess what treaty line, I saw Edward's car. I knew my truck wouldn't be fast enough to turn and head back to Jake's and I didn't want to be a chicken and run away from what I knew needed to be done. So I talked to him and explained it all. When he didn't believe me and started laughing, I got mad and it was when he was being so damn calm about the whole thing, that really set me off. But when he tried to hug me, I then tried to explain why we couldn't see each other, that's when I phased." I quickly explained, they all just stared at me, looking even more confused.

"You were mad you had to leave the bloodsucker?" Leah growled. And I could tell it was a question that most them had.

"No! No, it was the fact he wasn't getting the point," I told her, as calmly as I could. "Like I said, he was being so calm and trying to find something there to make it work. Being inside your guys' heads before, he knew what the imprinting was about, he knew there was no changing what I feel for Jacob, even if I had wanted to, which I would never. I still have no clue why he pushed it, but I guess I can't blame him. I don't know, but no, I was not mad because I had to leave him. I actually felt some relief when I did, to be honest." I surprised myself with the last part, as well as others. Some even started laughing.

"How did you not kill him?" Paul asked, slightly less annoyed than before.

"Well, I didn't want to. Just because I'm a... I'm what I am now, doesn't mean I'm just going to jump up and kill them all. I don't want to kill anyone. Plus, I was too confused. He just stood there, staring at me while I had him pinned to my truck. He didn't even flinch. I was standing in the middle of the road and just decided to run. And that was that," I said, shrugging.

Jake looked at me surprised. "You had him _pinned_?" he asked. When I nodded, he smiled.

"Wow, I would have loved to see that. Hell, I would have loved to _do_ that. But I wouldn't have run away, not until I was finished with him." he said, and the guys started laughing.

I just stared at him, and backed away a little.

"What Bells?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said and turned to look back at the others, I hoped we could just continue that for later, but the glares I was getting from the rest of the pack, wasn't much better. I sighed. "You just can't expect me to forget them you know. Sure, I don't feel the same for them anymore and I won't see them ever again, but you can't expect me to be happy when it comes to thinking about their deaths!"

I could tell Jake was thinking that over some, but he didn't think much.

"Bella, when are you going to finally realize that this is their faults? I would have thought, now that you have gone through what we have, you would finally get it. _None_ of this would be happening if they had never moved here. Our lives would be normal, yours especially."

"What would be stopping other vampires to come through? Not just the Cullens?" I argued.

"Then we would have killed them. We would have killed the Cullens too if you hadn't been so close to them. Jake wouldn't let us, because you meant so much to him," Paul said, with the disgusted tone again.

I tried to disagree more, but something inside me felt like they were right. If I had never met Edward my life wouldn't be on everyone's targets and I would still be a normal girl, however normal I was, but now I was far from it. I just closed my mouth and looked down at me feet.

Jake put his arm around me again and whispered, "I know you cared for them, almost as if they were regular people, but the truth is, they're not. They have changed everyone's lives just by being here, existing. And they don't even care, not one bit."

I started thinking about my life again and the changes in it in the past year. My life had gone from a boring somewhat normal life to a dangerous exciting one. Of course I wished that my death wasn't the want of the things endangering it, but that's how it goes with vampires. But with all that, I couldn't exactly regret it all, I couldn't really regret this moment; another surprise to myself. That also means that I couldn't exactly regret meeting Edward either, not that I would try to.

But the fact was still there. The Cullens, rather I wanted to admit it or not, were the starting of all of this to happen. I sighed again.

As if kind of echoing my thoughts, Jake started mumbling something to himself and I focused on it.

"They all kept saying the werewolves were too dangerous for her, but really, since it's their fault we're like this, that makes them even more dangerous. I bet I don't even know half of the shit they put her through and the danger it has caused her... "

And he was right. He had _no_ idea the things I've been through with them. Just going to Italy alone was enough to end my life in several different ways and enough to keep me afraid until I was either turned into a vampire or already dead.

I was kind of glad he didn't know that part, but again I wished he did. I felt weird now, not exactly sure why, but my outlook on things were a lot different. Not only was I put in the place of the werewolves and now know from experience what the presence of the Cullens can cause, but I was now slightly agreeing with them. Even if I was somewhat excited, aside from terrified, about the new things to experience. I had to keep another secret an even bigger one. I had to keep it from Charlie, Renee, and everyone else. Never letting them know what I've become.

The one thing I do hate about everything is all the secrets and lies.

I put my arm around Jacob's waist and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "You're right," I whispered to him.

A hint of rage flashed in his eyes, but was covered up fast by sadness as he tightened his arm around me and kissed my forehead. I assumed he knew I meant that towards everything.

We both turned to face everyone who was still watching us. "What now?" I asked.

"We wait," Sam answered. "You learn to control yourself in the process. I guess that is all there is to do. The same thing we always do when we've, once again, gained another member in the pack." The council members agreed.

I stood there staring at the fire that was dying out, I didn't really notice it until then. I was mad that all I could was sit and wait again. That always seemed to be what I was doing; waiting for something or someone to come, someone who wanted me or my death. Though I wasn't sure what the difference was anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After the meeting had ended I was walking away with Jake when I realized I had to go home with Leah and I let out a heavy sigh.

"What?" he asked.

"Why Leah's?"

"I don't really know," he answered. After thinking a little more he said "I'm sure Sam would have said you could stay at his house with Emily, she would have liked that, but he still gets scared letting her around the new members," he said, looking ahead.

"Oh." I didn't really understand and he explained.

"You never really know how a new werewolf will react to things and well he knows a lot about that."

"Right," I said. I suddenly remembered. He was afraid I would attack Emily for some reason. I couldn't see how Emily would make me mad or anything close to it. Emily and I had always gotten along, until tonight I thought that would have been the same. But also, I couldn't blame him. I could never imagine phasing and attacking, but it's happened, even to the one that person loved. I couldn't risk that. I worried about Charlie all over again.

"At least Leah, even though she can't stand you," he laughed. "Knows what you're going through and she's a girl, she can probably help you with the whole controlling thing better... Maybe. Even if she might be the one who ends up causing the problems. " I laughed with him. It was a weird thought, thinking Leah could help me. I couldn't imagine that at all.

"You're an ass Jake," Leah called, coming up out of nowhere.

"Just stating the facts," he said, still laughing.

"_Right,_" she commented. "Alright, if you're coming with me, we better get going. Mom already knows."

I swallowed hard. I couldn't remember the last time I stayed the night at a girl's house, at least a girl that wasn't a vampire anyways. Jake heard my reaction and it made him laugh even more.

"Bella, you'll be fine," he said.

"Yes, I'm sure I will be." And I turned to give him a kiss. When I tried to pull away He gripped me harder, he was sure healing fast alright, and the kiss deepened more than I was intending it to.

Leah cleared her throat. "Alright guys I'm about to puke here," she said.

Jake and I both laughed. "Goodnight Bells," he said.

"Goodnight," I repeated and we both walked away.

The walk to Leah's was awkward, to say the least. We didn't talk and she kept an unneeded distance between us that was just incredibly childish. I would have done just about anything to have been able to run back to Jake's and lie to Charlie, but Sam didn't want me to, for whatever reasons, and I couldn't argue. But Leah's? This must have been a test of some kind. If there was anyone who could piss me off the most, possibly enough for me to not control myself, surely it would be Leah.

When we finally got to her house, there was a truck in the driveway that I recognized.

"Great, Emily's here," she muttered.

I felt relieved at first, but then I remembered Emily was mad at me or something. Nothing could have made this day any more of a mess than it already was. I didn't say anything.

As soon as we got into the house Emily met us at the front door.

"Hi Leah. Hi Bella," She said smiling, but it faded as she looked at me. Instead of mad like before, she looked somewhat sad now. "I don't know what you're plans are for tonight, but I was wondering if I could talk to Bella for little bit."

_Great._ I knew this wasn't going to be good. I just wanted to crawl into whatever I was going to be sleeping on and sleep until I could see Jake again. This was going far from that plan.

"S-Sure," I said, shifting my weight to my other foot and started to walk back out the door.

"Do whatever you want," Leah said and stomped to the back of the house.

I walked out to where to where Sam's truck was and leaned against it.

"What's up Emily?" I asked.

"I just wanted to talk." She said, but I knew it was more than that.

"About?"

"Well, I know you don't have any girls to talk to, and I know sometimes it's easier to talk to a girl. No matter how close you and Jake are things, I'm sure, get awkward."

She was right, there were things I felt weird asking Jake or anyone else about, but I didn't know how to ask her those things either. I couldn't really think of those specific things at the moment.

"Uh, so far, I don't really have any questions," I said.

"Oh. Well, I know I may not be your closest friend or anything, but I'm here if you need me. I know I may not be able to answer much, since I only know what you know."

"I appreciate it Emily, I really do. I just can't think of anything to ask. For once, things seem to be ok. I'm actually ok with what's going on. "

"Really?" she asked, and I could tell this was leading to what she was really here for. Not that she didn't honestly care about me.

"Yeah, really. I mean, it scares me yeah, but what can I do? Once I started looking at it more clearly, I realized there's really nothing horrible about it. I can be with Jake and I'm still considered human." I laughed at that last part. "But overall, I guess until the next problem I find, I'm ok with it all." _There's always problems._

"Wow, I couldn't imagine that. I mean going through all of that. But at least you knew everything beforehand. That had to help a lot," she said, and I couldn't describe the look in her eyes at that moment.

"Yeah, it actually helped a lot." I couldn't take it anymore. "Emily, is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, nothing is wrong," she answered, but I could tell she was lying.

"Are you-" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"I'm… Well… A little jealous I guess."

That surprised me. I didn't even know what to say to that. So I settled on, "Really?"

"Yeah. I've always, in some weird way, felt like I was a part of the pack. I enjoy what I do for them, a lot , but sometimes I wish I could know more, be involved more. I wish that I was able to get out there and protect our people too and, in a way, know that I can protect Sam in the same ways he protects me. I know it's silly and may even be stupid to want such a thing, while everyone else wishes the opposite, but I do."

I knew what she meant, exactly. I knew what it was like to have the people you know and love out risking their lives while you sit back and hope they return safely. Only difference is everyone was always protecting me in the process of that and at least now, I could protect myself. Better anyways. I also wanting to be like the one you love, so you could get out there to protect yourself so everyone else wasn't doing it for you.

"Emily, it's not silly or stupid. I know what you mean. I felt the exact same way and I'm glad I can now. I hated being pushed aside, being weak, and watching everyone, not knowing anything, because they were afraid I couldn't handle it or would worry too much, like that was even possible. And I don't wish the opposite and I guess that is why I am ok with this now."

She smiled. "Well, I guess we're both a little relieved now," she laughed.

"Yeah. I thought about telling Jake I felt that way, but I'm already afraid everyone thinks I'm crazy," I told her.

"Yeah, Sam thinks it's pretty weird how accepting you are of it all. He thought for sure you would have freaked out and turned into a complete panicked mess after you knew what was going on. I told him to have a little faith in you, you've been around a lot of weird. " she laughed again.

"Thanks. Well I _was _starting to freak out, then, I don't know… I just got over it. I guess when you're faced with something you have no control over, there is really no reason to spend so much time freaking out about it. Now when I phased for the first time, that was worth panicking over," I said and we both stood there laughing for a minute or too.

We stood there talking for a while. She asked me some questions, I didn't mind it at all, actually it _was_ nice to talk about it. She asked me about how it felt to change and described it to her the best way I could. After that that she asked me about not being able to hear the packs' voices.

"It was weird. I had figured that when I phased I would hear them talking to me, but I didn't hear anything and I felt very alone. I had no idea what to do and had no idea why I was pinning Edward to my truck, but in the moment of panic I just took off through the woods to think about it, but never came up with anything till I was with the pack later on."

"That must have been kind of scary, not hearing anyone when you know you're supposed to. Especially with what you were about to do. But at least you knew what was going on and knew they were all out there somewhere. I wonder why it is you can't hear them sometimes," she said.

"Yeah. I was very glad I knew everything Jake had told me about it and glad I realized there was something changing with me before I figured it out at the last minute. But I don't really know why it is people can't really access my head. I can't really complain though, it has it's good points," I said and started laughing again.

After a while we said our goodbyes and she went home. When I walked back into the house Leah was on the couch watching TV.

"You're sleeping in Seth's room," she told me. And I just stood there. "He's out with Embry tonight," she added.

I was a little weirded out by that, but I ignored it, too tired to think twice. She got up and showed me where his room was and then walked into what I assumed was her room. I didn't bother with the blankets since I wasn't cold; I just kicked off my shoes and lay on top of the sheets. I was out as soon as my head touched the pillow.

I woke up the next morning to the sun shining brightly on my face. I opened my eyes and seen that the curtains were open and couldn't remember if they were shut the night before or not. It was weird waking up in the Clearwater's home and didn't know if I should leave right away, or stay to be polite. I knew Leah wouldn't care either way.

I got out of bed, stretched, and slipped my shoes back on. I opened the bedroom door and noticed a bathroom right across the hall. I walked quietly in and closed the door behind me. I knew I was out of luck of a tooth brush and a hair brush, but at least there was a mirror. My hair was a mess and I did my best to comb through it with my fingers. After I heard some movement around the house I decided to stop stalling and go and see who it was.

I walked down the hallway and turned into the kitchen. Leah was sitting down eating breakfast alone. I walked in, feeling completely awkward, and sat down in the chair sort of opposite of her.

"Jake called," She said and looked up at me. I smiled, but she just glared. "He says you can head over there whenever you wake up."

"Ok," I said and started to stand up, but when I pushed the chair back, she spoke again.

"Did you really love him before, or is it only because you _imprinted_?" she asked sharply.

I had no idea how to answer that, but I just went with the truth. "Yes. I loved him."

"What about the leech?" she was just curious, but her tone still held warning.

"Nothing." That was the best I could say.

"Nothing? You don't love him anymore? Just like that? No feelings at all anymore, not even regret? Sad? Something?"

All that surprised me and I saw a little hurt in her eyes. It took me a second to realize that she must have been comparing this to what had happened with Sam.

"It's hard to explain Leah. At one point I believed I really was in love with Edward. I always wanted to be with him, my life revolved around him and well, only him. I had to sneak to come here and he was always telling me what I should or shouldn't do. Sure, he was only looking out for me, in his own way, but I don't know. With Jake everything is so much different, so free. I feel like I can breathe with Jake after not being able to easily with Edward. I was actually questioning all that before the kiss. Just now, I see more things more clearly."

She seemed loosen up a little bit, even though I didn't. I still didn't understand how I could be completely in love with Edward one minute then the next I wasn't. Then I thought about that time when he left me to "protect" me. It was what he felt was right, without considering my feelings. And who helped me? Jake. Jake accepted who I was, without having me explain things. I think I may have been stuck on Edward leaving more than I thought I was and the more I thought about that, the more I realized it was true. Everything I did was a reaction to me hoping he wouldn't leave me again soon as things got too dangerous.

"Well, I guess when you imprint it's not like you can go back to him," she said and started to say something else, but I interrupted.

"I don't want to."

"Good."

* * *

_A/N: I hope this turned out ok. I was being to critical about it and kept fixing it. Actually I kept taking away and adding. I turned out almost completely different from when I originally wrote it lol. So yeah, let me know what you think._


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I couldn't have gotten out away from Leah fast enough. I wasn't used to talking to her, much less her actually caring, if that's what you called that. I didn't know if she was going to try and become friends or bite my head off, literally, either way I just wanted out of there. I would have thought she might have enjoyed the fact that she wasn't the only girl werewolf, but I guess that all depends on who the other one was and she never did like me. Oh well.

I was happy that Jacob wasn't too far away from Leah's, so it didn't take long for me to get there. I walked amazingly fast, and I didn't even fall once. I was proud of myself, but I guess I had the uh, werewolf in me now to thank for that.

When I got there Jake was already outside. Smile on his face, watching the direction I was coming from. I couldn't help, but smile back. Before all this had happened, I couldn't imagine being anymore happier when I had seen him, but after this, it's all just intensified so much more. He went from being my best friend, own personal sun, to being my own personal…. Well, everything I guess. It was hard to think about everything else when I knew I had him for the rest of my life; I knew he would never leave me. I don't know if that was imprinting talking, or if I was just finally coming to terms with what I had always felt, I don't really care either way.

"Hey Bells." He said when I finally reached him.

"Hey." I said walking up to give him a hug. "What's the plan for today?" I asked when I pulled away.

"Well, nothing I guess, other than that Emily invited us over for lunch, so whatever until then I guess."

My stomach growled and he laughed. "Uh, I don't think I can wait." I said, also laughing.

"Come on, let's see what we got here."

I followed him into the house, it was empty. Since it was the weekend I assumed Charlie and Billy went fishing again.

"Fishing?" I asked.

"Yep."

We both looked in the refrigerator, but it was pretty empty.

"Eggs?" he asked with a half smile.

"Sounds great." And my stomach growled, we both laughed again.

Jake got out the pan and the rest of the stuff needed to cook them and started at it, but I really couldn't imagine Jake cooking at all, so I pushed him aside.

"Hey!" he shouted at me.

"What?" I asked, smiling.

"I was going to cook them."

"Are you sure?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Fine." He said and stood back, handing me the spatula and I laughed again.

Once I started I could tell he was getting hungry too, I cooked the whole carton of a eggs. I hoped it was enough for him.

I put some on a plate for him, putting it on the table and got some for myself. We both sat down and within seconds I was done.

"Jeez Bells." Jake laughed.

"Wow, I'm still hungry." I said, shocked.

I think I ended up eating more than him, but I was still a little hungry. I just dealt with it.

"Guess it comes with the change for you too." He said as we walked to sit down on the couch after I had cleaned up the kitchen. I laughed and he half smiled.

"What?" I asked him.

"I don't know. You really just seem to be ok with all of this. I'm half expecting you to just suddenly freak out the next time someone says something relating to it all."

"I really am ok Jake, stop worrying. I've done my freaking out already." I told him.

"Really? When?" he asked, surprised.

"Well uh… Ok, maybe it wasn't really freaking out, but what can I do Jake? Would you guys be happier if I freaked out?"

"No, of course not. Sometimes, I don't know why, but you keep surprising me." He said and he kissed my forehead.

"Me too." I just smiled at him.

It was a quiet for a while and it was comfortable just sitting in silence for a while, but I knew it wouldn't last. The phone started ringing and Jake got up to answer it. After a moment, I knew who it was.

"Bella, it's Charlie."

_Great._ I got up and walked slowly to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" he asked, oddly.

"Yeah?"

"What time are you coming home?" he asked, he sounded like he was sort of anxious.

"Well I was sort of planning to after lunch. Emily invited us over." I told him, though it was a little lie, I didn't know when I was planning to go home.

"Oh, ok." He didn't say anything else.

"Is that ok?" He was acting weird, but I wasn't sure I wanted to find out what that was.

"Sure, I guess. Well... see you then I suppose."

"Ok. Bye." And I we both hung up.

That was weird. He never really questioned me like that. If I was with Jake he always seemed ok with it. I'm sure he assumed that sometimes I would go with him to see his other friends.

I could tell from that conversation that it wasn't over and I was definitely not looking forward to it.

"You ok Bells?" Jake asked suddenly.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." I just shook my head and went over to give him a hug. "Should we be heading over to Sam and Emily's now? I'm sure she could use the help."

"Sure." He said, giving me a light kiss. I didn't want to let go, but I knew if I didn't, I probably wouldn't anytime soon.

As we walked out of the house, Billy was just coming home. We explained where we were going and he nodded and wheeled himself into the house.

We had gotten there early so it was just Emily and I in the kitchen. When we first got there Sam and Jake instantly went outside. I knew they were just avoiding in case we asked for help. Not that we ever would.

Emily was making a huge ham and sliced at least three blocks of cheese for sandwiches. There were 5 bags of chips sitting on the table already, along with four cases of different soda. It was enough for a full party, but I knew that between the pack, it wouldn't last more than an hour. I guess I had to include myself in that too.

Once it was all sliced up and laid out on the table the guys, and girl, started showing up. They were all in good moods, laughing and having fun. It was a good lunch, finally getting off the topic of the weird things that have happened. Once again they were all enjoying themselves like a family.

After I helped Emily serve them all I sat down, eating almost twice as much as I normally would. They all just kind of looked at me like they were trying not to laugh once I had finished. Glad I decided not to go back for more. I wondered if they had treated Leah like that when she first joined them, but I doubted anyone messed with her and lived to tell about it.

When lunch was over, I helped clean up the mess. Emily told me, as always, that I didn't have too, but I enjoyed it. It was at least something normal for me to do. After a while everyone had moved into the living room, talking about whatever they normally did. I didn't know exactly what I should have been doing, but I just stood in the doorway listening.

Jake noticed me and kind of put me on the spot.

"Bella, you can come sit down you know." He said gesturing to the empty spot next to him.

I didn't say anything, but I crossed my arms over my chest and went to sit next to him.

"Bella, you should learn to feel comfortable with us all. You are one of us now; there is no reason you shouldn't." Sam told me.

I just sat there staring at the wall and I nodded my head. Jake put his arm on my back and rubbed in soothingly.

"Yeah, were not all jerks." Quil said and I couldn't help but laugh. Actually most of them did.

"Thanks." I said.

It was nice to be able to just have time to hang out and relax. We tried watching a movie, but my nerves kicked in. I knew it was time to be going home soon and I couldn't keep it together. By the time the movie was over, I had no idea what it was even about. The only thing I could think of was ways to keep this secret away from Charlie.

Jake apparently could tell that something was wrong and told them that we were going to go, that I had to get home. Sam looked worried, but he didn't follow or say anything.

The drive back to Jake's was silent. He didn't interrupt my thoughts, but I wish he would have. Instead of making myself feel better about it, I felt worse, thinking about all the bad things that could happen. I didn't honestly think I would get mad enough at Charlie to phase in front of him or attack him, but I was worried about keeping it from him.

It was easier keeping other people's secrets from him, but this one was about me and big enough change everything from being normal, no matter how hard I could try. I didn't know if I would have to take off as much as the rest of the pack did for things, but I knew I would at some point have to do some of the things they did. How would I explain that? Would I have to constantly sneak out?

"What's wrong Bells?" Jake asked suddenly. I didn't even realize we were at his house already and his rabbit was shut off.

"Nothing really." I lied. I didn't want him to know how much I was worried about it, he might try to tell me not to go, when I had to.

"Bella…"

"I'm worried about going home." I gave in.

He got out of the car and walked around to open my door. He grabbed my hand and gently pulled.

"Come on." He said softly.

He led me into the house and sat me down on the couch. He disappeared for a second then came back, with Billy not far behind him.

"What's wrong?" Billy asked me.

"What if I can't control myself? I really can't imagine getting that mad at him, but what if it's something else? And how do I keep it from him? You know that I'm not good at lying, so how do I not say anything, or make up reasons to leave and random times? I know he's going to ask questions." I blurted it all out. I don't know of it was for help or to just finally get it out in the open.

Billy sat there for a moment and seemed to be thinking it over. Jake was now sitting on the couch with his hand on my lap.

"Don't think about it Bella." _Hah, like that was easy._ "As you should be able to see, the more you are thinking about it, the worse it will make it. Just act normal, focus on being happy, on not letting the things that worry you happen." He stopped for a moment. "You know, there were quite a few of the pack who's parents didn't know for the longest time…" but he stopped.

The way that sounded was that Charlie won't know at first, but he'll figure it out eventually and I was almost sure he would. He is a lot smarter than I give him credit for.

"Well then… I guess I should probably get home before I change my mind." I said, standing up. One thing that I was looking forward to was a hot shower and clean clothes. That was almost enough to make me do this and I almost laughed.

The whole way home I just thought about taking a shower and changing my clothes, that was enough to get me through the drive. I once again wished my truck was faster so I could get this over with sooner.

Once I got home and was about to walk through the door, I realized I wasn't alone. I wasn't positive, but I was pretty sure Jacob was out there hidden in the trees somewhere. It made me feel a little better and I took a deep breath and went inside.

Charlie didn't get up off the couch as usual, which I was a little glad.

"Bella?" he shouted.

"Yeah, it's me."

It felt a little awkward. I wished it was night so at least then I could just do to bed, but in the afternoon, I knew that would only cause more questions.

Once I got upstairs, alone, I decided I needed to do some laundry. I gathered up all my dirty clothes, but decided I should take a shower first. I grabbed a clean pair of clothes and went to the bathroom.

The much needed shower felt great and I took my time. When I was done I tossed the clothes I had taken off into the basket and carried it downstairs. I started tossing some into the washing machine when I heard Charlie getting up off the couch. This better hearing could come in handy.

"Bells, is everything ok?" he asked once he was behind me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told him and it wasn't a complete lie. Billy was right, once I stopped thinking I was hiding something from him, it didn't feel so bad.

"Ok." He didn't believe me, but he let it go. I let out a gust of air I didn't realize I was holding.

Once I had the laundry started I looked around the house for other things to do. I noticed some dishes piled in the sink and started with those and slowly worked my around the whole house. When my laundry was done I carried it upstairs to fold it and put it away.

The time was passing quickly and I almost didn't notice it was about dinner time, so once I was finished with my clothes away I went downstairs too cook dinner. I didn't really realize how much I had made until Charlie came walking in wide eyed, staring at the pan.

"Jeeze Bella, are we expecting someone?" he commented.

"No. Sorry, didn't realize I made that much." I didn't think I could have possibly of been hungry again after a huge lunch, but I was. I felt like I could have just about eaten it all myself.

I actually did it almost all of it, but I stopped myself and I was pretty full. Charlie eyed be curiously, I didn't think about it too much.

"Guess I was hungry. " I said with a laugh. "Didn't really eat much over at Jake's or Leah's, except for the lunch today with Emily." I added.

He just nodded, got up and went back to the couch to finish watching the game. I was pretty thankful for sports sometimes. He was so anxious to get back to it that many times it stopped a conversation that I knew I couldn't deal with from happening. I smiled slightly and got up to clean up the kitchen.

Once it was a safe time to go to bed, I went up and cleaned up my room and went back down to say good night. He just said it back and that was that. I fell right to sleep.

In the morning I woke up to a dull light shining on my face and the comfort of being in my own home and my own bed. I don't remember dreaming, which I guess was good. Better than the nightmares I'm known to have about things that upset me.

I got up out of bed slowly, my body still aching somehow even more than before. I decided to take another shower, just because I could, but something felt different, I just couldn't figure out what it was.

As I got out of the shower and dried off, I grabbed the clothes I had carried in, I was just pulling shirt over my head when I realized it was little tight. _Hmm._ It wasn't too bad so I left it on and decided I would add a flannel shirt on over it. The only thing was, the shirt was usually kind of big on me. I grabbed my jeans and was pulling them up, but they were extra tight around my hips.

I didn't think I was gaining weight, but what else could explain my clothes suddenly being too small for me? _What the hell…. Oh. Damn. _

Well I had completely forgotten about that little detail. I was somehow hoping my body wouldn't change appearance wise, at least not _to_ much. I just hoped Charlie wouldn't notice.

I ran downstairs to call Jake. There was no way I was going to spend the rest of the day in the house. I picked up the phone and dialed his number and it rang twice before he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jake." I said happily.

"Hey, Bells. How was your night?" he asked.

"Pretty good actually." I said, sounding surprised as I was.

"That's good to hear. Told you, you were worrying for nothing." He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah."

"So you want to come over today?" he sounded hopeful, how could he think I might not have.

"Of course."

"Ok, soon as you want." He said and I could practically hear the smile from his face in his voice.

"Ok be there in a little bit." I said and I hung up.

Sometimes it felt like this imprint thing was weirder for us than the rest had it, besides the fact it turned me into a huge wolf. I notice we keep avoiding the talk about that part and I wasn't sure why.

Once I had hung up the phone Charlie was walking up behind me before I had turned around.

"Where you going so early?" he asked, suspicious again.

"Jake's." I replied, turning to walk back upstairs.

He opens his mouth to say something , but decided against it and walked away to go to work. I sad on my bed for a few minutes, making sure he was really gone. At the last minute I remember I should take some spare clothes.

I did a good job not thinking too much on the way to Jake's, it was hard, but I at least didn't think of anything negative anyways. I was tired of thinking about it, thinking about all the bad things about it all, and trying to figure out why I wasn't as upset as they all expected me to be, or why I wasn't as upset as I should have been with all the changes. Especially how it didn't really bother me to say goodbye to Edward so suddenly. I felt bad, but I knew these things happen for a reason. Maybe I would never know that reason and I think I was oddly ok with that too.

But as I did start thinking about it all, I was actually a little angry. Angry with Edward anyways. When I think back to my first day at Forks High, I sometimes wonder if vampires can hypnotize people. I felt like I was shut off to myself, unable to make my own decisions. My world revolved around him, uncontrollably. I did love him, there was something good in him, but in the end I guess it wasn't enough. He never really thought about things and it was obviously because he wasn't human , so he didn't think like we did. I went way out my way to be with him, risked everything, and it turned out that I wasn't as happy as I had thought I was while doing it.

I still wondered why exactly he didn't want me to become a vampire, I doubted it was just about my soul, it had to be something more. If I was willing to give that up, if that's how it really was, why couldn't _he_ just get over it? Maybe it wasn't that at all, maybe it was because I wouldn't have been weak anymore, and he wouldn't have been able to keep the control the way he did. That seemed a little too crazy to be the real cause, so it must have really been over my soul, or something like that.

What I really think though is that somewhere deep down inside of me, I never really forgave him for leaving me or hurting me the way he did and making me go through what I had gone through. Everything that had brought me to Jacob and everything that led me to where I am today. That is why I think it was so easy for me to move on the way I did. Some wounds never heal, but sometimes someone can come along and help you forget why. And _My _Jacob had done that. He truly was amazing.

* * *

A/N: Trying to work on keeping the chapters at least this long. Didn't think it was that hard, but it starts to feel like I'm writing to much when I do. Oh Well.  
What do you think of this Chapter?

For those of you who are curious, the Cullens will be coming back, with some more questions and answers. It's technically only been maybe less than a week and they haven't gone anywhere. I'll just say their giving her time.  
Also, all the other things that have been in the reviews, I will get to them soon. I'm writing as fast as I can and it's all just jumbled up in my head. But, if you see that I may be forgetting something that I never when back too and you think I may have forgotten all about it please let me know. Well, that's about it for now I guess... Lots more to come =]


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Once I had gotten to Jake's, he let me know there was a meeting and he was able to go this time.

"Are you really sure you are healed enough?" I asked him.

"Yep. Nothing even hurts anymore." He said with a smile and I couldn't help but smile back.

He pulled me into his arms and gave me a tight hug that a weak ago would have crushed me completely, but now it just felt wonderful to have him _that_ close. We sat down on the couch to wait for a while and my nerves went overboard again. Jake could tell and he knew what was wrong.

"Everything is ok Bells, really. It's just a normal meeting." He told me.

"I know… it's not that… I just don't know if I want to phase again." I said, quietly.

"You know, the more you phase the more control you gain over it, your body becomes more used to it and it becomes easier to do."

I felt a little better knowing that, soon I won't have to worry so much. I was still nervous though. It's not that I was scared to phase, but it was still weird to me. The feeling of the phase and then having everyone in your head was a little strange. Not to mention not looking like a human anymore. I looked forward to it feeling more normal, because right now I still felt a little like an outsider.

He glanced up at the clock. "Let's go." He said, pulling up off the couch and I followed him outside.

We walked towards the back of the garage again, but the rest of the pack wasn't there. Jake showed me how to tie my clothes around my ankle like they did. And I laughed.

"I never thought you would be showing me how to do this." I said, still laughing.

"Yeah. Me either." He laughed too.

Once I had it down he moved to the other side of the tree and I saw him take his shirt off. I knew it was my turn to do the same, so I did it quickly before he had time to try and turn around. I could tell he had thought about it. I tide it just tight enough around my ankle, then I phased.

For some reason I was shocked again when I couldn't hear them all. I was mostly confused, but realized that maybe I did really have to allow them every time. I really wondered what was wrong with my brain to cause such a thing to happen.

Jake stared at me, he looked confused. The only way I knew how to answer him was to shake my head, but as I did that I turned to face him and focused. I did the same thing I did with Sam and focused on Jacob and focused on moving that _bubble_ around him. After about a minute, which was shorter than last time, it was clear too clear.

I heard every thought of every wolf at the same second and it was too much. I actually jumped back and before I could blink it was quiet again. W_hat the hell? _Jake was making a weird howling noise that I could only interpret as laughing.

I made a sharp snapping bark back at him and refocused, opening my mind again. I did it slower this time, allowing the voices to come in at a low whisper and then slowly get a little higher to actually understand.

_Wow._ I thought and everyone had gotten oddly quiet. _What?_ I asked.

_What happened?_ I heard Jake's voice say.

_What was that about?_

_What the hell is wrong with her?_

_What did she do?_

_I'm confused._

_What did I miss?_

All of their voices came in so fast, I couldn't figure out who was who. I ignored most of them and just answered Jacob.

_I don't know. I just did the same thing I did with Sam yesterday. I guess I wasn't expecting to hear so many voices at once; so loud, that I don't know, I closed back up. _

They all thought about that for a moment. I couldn't tell who had which thought, or exactly what the thoughts were since they were all at once. But then I heard, what I thought sounded like Seth laughing.

_That's pretty cool. Too bad I can't do that, then I could block out Leah's annoying thoughts. It's bad enough to have to live with her!_

Leah growled and everyone started to laugh, well as much as you can laugh when it's inside your head. I thought it was all beyond weird.

After a few minutes I could tell someone phased in and it was Sam.

_How was last night Bella?_ He asked.

I didn't really need to answer with actual words, I just thought about it and he could see the pictures from it all happening. It was sort of like watching a movie. That was even weirder than how Jake had explained it once. But I made a mistake.

I somehow let in an image of me in the shower when I was talking about Charlie's suspicions. Everyone seemed to be shocked and I was so mortified that I couldn't even attempt to hear what they were thinking about it. Instead I accidentally started slipping with my bubble thing and their grumbled voices started getting quieter and quieter.

From what I could tell of their thoughts, most of them were having very inappropriate ones, Jake was trying very hard not to, but even he slipped.

_Shut up!_ I heard Sam yell, and they did.

Once it was quiet I was able to refocus and hear clearly.

_It will take you some time to learn how to control certain thoughts and the images you show. Don't worry about it, they all slip every now and then and it's all much worse than a normal shower._ He told me

I started to feel a little better and actually started to notice that some of them were starting to slip as he said that. I almost laughed, but thought better of it and Jake laughed.

We finally got back to talking about the important stuff. They all started talking about patrolling and other normal things for them. Some thoughts I noticed started focusing on me and I got confused again. I was trying to keep quiet, but that's a lot harder than it seems. You can't always stop thoughts.

Sam interrupted himself, listening to all the confusion.

_Ok, well I think that she should wait before doing patrolling, unless she wants to start early. But none of you started this soon and I think she should wait until she gets everything down and figured out first. _

_I can start doing whatever you want me to do; it's only fair and I will be over at my house most of the time anyways._ I told them

Leah made a noise that I couldn't define and everyone's thoughts turned to her.

_Sure, Bella comes along and turns into a werewolf and she is loved instantly. Miss perfect, of course. While I'm still trying to be accepted by you all still._ Her tone was angry and sour, but she seemed more offended.

_Leah, the only thing that makes it hard is having to put up with your thoughts constantly that make it unbearable sometimes. _Couldn't really tell who had said that.

Mostly everyone started to laugh, except for Sam and me. That caused Leah to get even madder.

_That's enough. Shut it guys._ Sam interrupted.

_When Bella goes home, I want someone to watch around the house, just in case. I have a feeling it might be needed soon. It's not because she is new, but because she is farther away and the danger that is coming, maybe be coming for her. _He said.

_Of course it would it would be after her. It's always after her since she was with those damn leeches and just like always it's our jobs to protect her. _Leah added.

Leah was working on my last nerve. I tried to say something and got interrupted.

_I already went last night, so I will keep doing it._ Jake told them.

_I knew it. _I thought and Jake's wolfy face smiled at me. I laughed and the sound startled me again, it sounded like a damn choking sound_._ Now Jake laughed.

_I'll go too, if you need me Jake. I don't mind._ Seth volunteered.

_Alright. That should do for now. We just need someone to switch off every other night to watch her. She doesn't need guards._

And that was that. I had watchers now and it felt like being babysat all over again. I felt a little comforted, but a little annoyed too. I was finally strong enough to handle myself and yet I still needed babysitters.

_It's not like that Bella. Just rather be safe than sorry._

I didn't argue, there was no need to. Sam was right, so I agreed.

I thought I heard Leah mumble something, but I ignored her. I've had enough from her to last a lifetime. Luckily no one seemed to hear me think that and if they did, they were really good at not thinking about it.

Once I had finally thought we were done, Jake got another thought that I instantly was against.

_Jake I can't leave my home! Where would I go?_ I kind of shouted at him.

_It was just a thought Bells. This is going to be really hard for you; you're pretty far away from us. How are you going to know when and if we need you? You could come stay with me._

_Jake, no. Moving closer would be easier for the pack stuff, yes, but what about everything else? How would I explain to Charlie that I'm moving in with you? He already suspects something is going on. That wouldn't help anything at all. _I snapped, though I didn't mean too.

_That's another thing why, he doesn't know. Just how long you think you can keep it from him? _He was only curious.

_I don't know. How did everyone else keep it from their parents, the parents who knew nothing about the Legends? I will find a way. I have to. Just packing up and moving won't help anything._

Everyone was quiet during all that. Some agreeing with Jake, but most agreeing with me.

_She's right Jake. It really wouldn't help. Someday maybe we can work something like that out, but for right now, things stay the way they are._ Sam said and that was the last word about it.

***

After the meeting was over and most of the pack had left, I tried to think of something else we could do. I was actually enjoying the form I was in now and I wanted to see what else I could do.

_Hey Jake, can we go for a run?_ I asked, it sounded like a fun idea.

_Sure._ He said, surprised.

_Well I remember you telling me it was one of the best things about being werewolf, so I want to see how great it is._

He laughed that wolfy laugh and in that second he opened up a little and I got a glimpse of exactly how he felt about me. Everything from the first time we had really met. It was so much to be packed into a few seconds, so many images and feelings. It really said a lot.

I realized for the first time just how much he had always loved me. Just how much I had been so blind, so consumed in my own personal problems and delusions to see. I could see how much it hurt him to see me that way over some guy who left me and how bad I had really looked. I could also see how much I had really hurt him by taking off to save the life of that same guy, risking _my_ life at the same time.

I could also see the truth in how he really felt about this new change and that no matter what had changed me, he was grateful that he finally had me. That I finally loved him back the same way he had always loved me and now our love was so intense from the imprinting. It was amazing.

For a moment I got a glance at him being proud of me. Proud of how accepting I had been from the beginning and even now, now that I had become one of them. Also, that I apparently never fail to surprise him. And that even though he never thought anything like this could ever happen, he was excited a little, because now he really could share his life with me.

If I knew how to cry in this form, I'm sure I would have.

At that moment Jacob realized that I knew everything and realized that in one moment of thinking about it, I saw everything. I laughed a little.

_I guess I'm going to have to keep reminding myself you can read my mind now._ He laughed a little too now.

What was left of the pack started making noises of disgust.

_That's what we had to put up with everyday. And that was even before he imprinted!_ Embry said.

I laughed even harder and started walking away from where I had been sitting and Jacob followed. We both took off running at the same time, but I just followed him, I had no idea where to go, or where was safe.

The run was amazing. I felt the energy flowing through me as I pushed my paws, saying that was going to take some getting used to, to the ground harder with every push to gain speed. We kept the going, running up and down the coast line, going as far as we could without worrying about getting to far or being seen. I couldn't believe I could keep up with him. We saved just enough energy to get us back to his house. It really was the best thing I had _ever_ felt.

* * *

A/N: I promise I will start picking the pace up more and get things more exciting. I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to piece all of the ideas in my head into chapters lol.  
Coming Soon: Charlie's suspicions, Bella figures out what might be coming, Edward's thinking and talks to Bella, and **a lot** more. Just a little of what I can guarantee will happen.  
Also, I ran out of pre-written chapters, so things may get a _little_ slow while I'm trying to get everything together and deal with real life things.

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Right when we got to the house, and was just about to phase back, Quil popped in and he was upset about something. Suddenly after a moment of trying to figure it all out, I realized it had to do with me.

_What's going on?_ Jake asked him.

_Charlie is here Bella and he's mad._

I couldn't think clearly enough to move at the moment. The only thing that broke me from my thoughts was Jake's startling laughter.

_What?_ I snapped at him.

_Is your head always so confusing?_

_Actually… Yeah, it is. _ And I managed a little laugh too, but went back to being serious._ Well, I'll be right in. _

_Great._ That was _just_ what I needed. I knew my nice and calm day was just about to be ruined. I walked over to the trees and phased back. Always getting easier, just like Jake had said. I tried putting my clothes on as fast as I could, but I fell once when putting my pants back on and I also ended up putting my shirt on backwards. Luckily I caught that before I walked away.

By the time I had gotten to the door, Jake was standing next to me.

"Take a deep breath Bells. It'll be fine." He told me.

Sure it would. Charlie was freaking out about something and in the back of my head I knew I wouldn't be able to tell him why there wasn't really a reason to. I knew it had to be about the things that have been happening lately. It was only a matter of time.

So I did as Jake said and took a deep breath, not much help it did. I opened the door and it literally took everything in me to not turn and run back outside when I saw the look on Charlie's face. _Just_ _Great._

"Where were you?" Charlie shouted at me.

"Out for a walk with Jake. Why?" I said, calmly as I could.

"Something is going on here Bella and I'm tired of pretending it's not." He said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." His tone just kept getting angrier and angrier.

"Actually I don't." I didn't know what else to say. I knew he would ask questions sooner or later, but right now I had no clue how to answer him.

"For starters, did you even really stay at Leah's last night?" he asked.

"Yes I did. You can even ask Sue if you _really_ don't believe me." I snapped. Sure, he thought I was lying about the things I actually wasn't lying about. I backed up slightly to lean against the wall. It helped keep me in more control of myself, I could tell I was getting to that point.

"Oh you can be sure I will. There is just too much going on Bella. Too much unexplained. Things with Edward just ending, no reasons, just some excuse. If he did something to you, I want to know and I want to know it _right now_." I have never heard him use these tones before and I felt horrible once again for having to lie to him.

"No. Nothing happened with Edward, not like that anyways. I don't know maybe I came to my senses, but it just wasn't uh… wasn't working out with him anymore." I guess that was the most common wording used for breakups and it seemed good enough.

"Just like that?" he asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I guess so." I told him. I was actually surprised at how stable and sure I was able to keep myself.

"After everything, now somehow you realize it's not working out. I wish you would have realized that months ago when he put you through all that." He didn't have to specifically mention what he had meant. I saw a flash of pain in his eyes at remembering it.

"Sometimes things just happen. Things become more clear." I told him.

"So you and Jake now? Is that what has become clear?" he said suddenly.

"Well… I guess I…" My words were slipping. Such an easy question and I was stuck.

"We had a talk the other day." Jake cut in. "I told her how I felt about her and well I guess sometimes that's all you need. We talked about it for a while and the next thing I knew she was here with me and I couldn't be happier." He said, smiling at me. I smiled back, slightly losing focus again on that moment.

"Well…" Charlie started. He looked like he didn't know what else to say. He eyed me for a moment with narrow eyes. "Bella, what's really going on?" he asked suddenly. Curiosity was gone and the anger was back.

What Jake has said was basically true, I don't know why he didn't believe it. The look on his face now made me think he had a totally different track of thoughts going on now. I was starting to get mad and I felt slight jolts working through my body that led me to an almost panic. I needed to calm myself, the panic was making it all worse and it was probably over nothing. I took a few deep breathes and looked Charlie in the eyes.

"Dad, we told you already." My voice cracked a little.

He eyed me a little closer and his eyes widened. I just stared.

"Bella, are you pregnant?" he yelled.

_Wow. _I never saw that one coming.

"What? No!" I said, completely in shock. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Your clothes are looking tighter, you ate about twice as much as normal last night. Not to mention you are just acting _weird_. It sure would explain a little better than you discovered your feelings for Jake." He quickly said.

I didn't know if I should laugh, get mad, or be embarrassed at that. I guess his reasoning made sense, but still. _Pregnant? _I laughed lightly.

"Well, sorry if I'm gaining a little weight Dad, but no that is _definitely_ not the case. Do we need to have that conversation again?"

Jake laughed a little too and that made Charlie look a little more uncomfortable and he mumbled out, "Uh, no. I just can't help but feel like there is something more going on than what you're telling me."

"I guess, to sum it up, I've changed a little." I shrugged. If only knew how just how much. "Guess you could say I'm just seeing a lot of things more clearly. Jake has always been there for me and that's something that is important to me."

I decided I had explained enough. If he had more questions, then Jake or Billy, who I just noticed wasn't in the room like I had thought, would have to answer them. There is only so much _I _can do. But he seemed slightly satisfied with that.

"Well then… I guess that's it." He said and the conversation was dropped. "I should probably get home. I need to clean the cruiser anyways. The outside is looking pretty dirty."

"I'll be home for dinner." I told him.

He stared at the door as he walked too it. He slowed a little to put a hand on my shoulder tightly and smile, though it wasn't a happy one. He disappeared out the door and I heard the car start up and pull away.

I was happy it was all over with. For now. I knew it was just a matter of time before he brought it up again and I really didn't expect him to catch on this soon, but he did. I also knew things were only just now getting weird and soon I would have even more questions to answer.

***

The day was calm and quiet again and most of it went by pretty fast. After Charlie had left, Jake and I had lunch then went out to the garage so he could work on some new thing he was doing to his car. I just smiled and nodded while he explained, but he ended up just laughing at me most of the time.

When he was done with that, apparently giving up because something wasn't going right, we decided to go in and watch a movie. It wasn't all that interesting and we weren't paying attention to it. I wanted to talk to him, but I had a hard time thinking of something, and that forced the question I had from before up in front, ready to be asked. It was never so hard to talk to him before. I took a deep breath and Jacob turned to look at me.

"What's up Bells?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know, just was thinking about something." I mumbled.

"What about?"

"Us. This whole imprinting thing."

"What about it? I thought we pretty much covered all that?" he said, even more curious than before.

"Well, it's just that… Well, it seems to me that somehow we aren't as close as we were before. I mean, we're closer in other ways, but as far as normal ways, we don't even hardly talk anymore it seems. Everything has been about phasing, or other pack stuff. I don't know." I was rambling and my point wasn't really being made, so I just stopped.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We don't get enough time for ourselves and when we do it's for talking about the pack." He sounded as I felt, somewhat sad. "You know I love you, I have always loved you and I couldn't be happier right now." The way he said the last sentence was like he was leaving out something.

"But?"

"Bella, you just gave everything up, just like you did with that… Edward. I don't want you to do that. I don't want you to regret it later. I hate thinking it, but I you somehow should have talked to him about it."

"I tried!" I said loudly. "I tried when he unexpectedly showed up and what happened? I phased! There wasn't much I could do. I'll talk to him again, when I know I'm controlled enough. But, what I meant was it all just seems to be harder for us. I can't think of a reason why, but it just does**.**"

"Right. Well, I guess we do have it harder than most imprints do." He mumbled. I could tell he was thinking. "We're the only ones who can both turn into wolves. Usually the imprint stays at home, out of the danger while the wolf that imprinted goes out does in our situation, we're side by side dealing with it together. Even though it is kind of nice, no secrets, it's harder. We have twice as much to worry about in the relationship I guess."

It made sense and I never really thought about it that way. Emily stays at home while Sam runs the pack. Her job, that she's proud to take on, is to care for the pack. At the end of the day they are somewhat normal. Jake and I are the same now, both werewolves and both constantly worrying about the danger to come. Where's the room for normal when neither of us are? Guess we do have to work harder, at least until that danger is over with.

"But Jake, you never have to worry about me regretting this. I don't think I can even if we have to work at it. I'm just sorry it took imprinting to really make me realize how I felt and I still feel horrible about that."

"So if you wouldn't have imprinted, you wouldn't be here right now?" he asked and it surprised me.

Ok that wasn't what I meant by that, but… If I wouldn't have imprinted on Jacob, would I still be with Edward now? The only thing I knew for sure was before Jacob and I had kissed, I was already stuck with deciding who I wanted. Jacob was always my friend who I loved, but there was no denying that sometimes I wanted more. Edward had always seemed so perfect, but so flawed at the same time. I think either way, someday, I would have realized I wasn't making the right decision and it would be with Jacob, it just might have taken a little longer. And I told him that.

"So you knew you loved me that way, you just never told me?" he asked.

"Yeah. You always said you could tell anyways." I laughed. "But I was denying it. I wanted Edward. When you kissed me, I realized that is was you I wanted and that was when all the weird things happened. Until those weird things I wasn't even sure how I would have acted on those new thoughts." I told him.

"As long as you knew you loved me more, that's good enough for me. I'm just sorry I ended up bringing all the werewolf stuff into your life. I wanted to be with you, but never imagined like this."

"I know. Guess next time you should be more specific in what you want." I said and he and I both laughed.

He pulled me into his arms and we sank into the couch comfortably. "It didn't really matter to me, as long as I had you." He whispered. "I just wish I knew what was causing it all." And he yawned.

"I know." I whispered back, leaning into him more and resting my head on his chest.

It was silent for a moment and I was getting tired. Jake spoke just as my eyelids were closing.

"I think I have an idea though. Not about that specifically, but about you phasing. 'The _special_ human girl.'" He barely whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked. That was kind of random.

"Your head. It's closed to us somehow, until you let us in. That's something pretty special alright." His voice was lower than before.

It took about five minutes for Jake to fall asleep while I was thinking about what he had just said. Blocking people from my head can be considered special? I guess in a way it can. I just wish I knew if everything was connected or not and what the reasons were. I thought just being able to imprint was special, but I guess there had to be something "_special"_ in me to cause that. But the blocking people thing, I wish I could find out more about that. Also, it feels like maybe it is all connected. Phasing, blocking people, and the danger. What was the trigger?

I felt like I should know the answer, like it was right there in plain sight, but I still wasn't getting it. It seemed like the more I thought about it, the more it confused me. I decided to just relax in this time I had with Jake and sleep a little bit before I had to get home.

Right as I was slipping into a dream, a flash of something crossed my mind; I really wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. My whole body tensed as I focused hard on what I had seen, even as a blur I could make out the figures. Dim lights, dark robes, pale faces, and bright red eyes, all facing me.

I jumped up off the couch with a scream and Jake was on his feet followed by a growl. He stopped once he saw me. I had no idea what the expression on my face had shown and in that moment I didn't care. I looked up into his fear filled eyes, knowing that he had no idea just what there was to fear. Not yet.

"Bella, what is it?" he asked, voice shaky as he walked over to hold me in his arms.

I could feel the tears fall from my eyes as my head spun. I knew what had to be coming and I knew they were definitely coming for me.

I gasped for air so I could speak, but my voice was almost soundless. "The Volturi."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to post. I had some serious concentrating issues and I just hope this chapter turned out alright. I hope this covered some of the questions and I hope you guys like it. I got the next chapter pretty much written, so hopefully it shouldn't be as long of a wait for this one. I'm trying to stay ahead again so in case of more complications I can still post.

Please review =)


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I was officially slipping into a panic. I had no idea why I hadn't thought of it before. It's almost obvious and I couldn't even begin to think of anything worse than the Volturi. I didn't want to try, they were bad enough.

Jake was just standing there looking at me, his arms halfway around me, completely confused. I took in a few more breathes, wiped the tears out of my eyes so I could see better, and was finally calming down a little bit.

"Who?" Jake finally asked.

"The Volturi." I repeated, not expecting to know who I was talking about.

He led me over to sit on the couch while holding my hand. "And who are they?"

"Italy." I whispered. I didn't even know where to begin explaining it to him. There was so many things about that time I wanted to forget, Volterra especially, not to mention the vampires there and what they were going to do to me if I didn't become one of them. How do I tell all of that to him?

"Where you went…" he started.

"Yes." I said, cutting him off.

"What? Bella, you gotta give me more than that. I'm confused." He admitted.

"Jake there is a lot you don't know about. When I left during spring break to get Edward, something happened that I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to tell you." I said, stumbling around thousands of words I couldn't piece together. I couldn't get over the fact that it was happening and it was happening now.

"Bella." He whispered when tear fell from my eyes again.

"Something bad _is_ coming Jake and everyone was right. It _is_ coming for me." I said quietly. Saying it in my head was one thing, but saying it out loud only made it more real.

"_What_ are they?" he asked.

"Well…" I thought for a moment, calming myself again. "They are pretty much like the rulers of the vampires to sum it up. If something goes wrong in the vampire world, then they fix it. They are thousands of years old. Some of the worst problems in human history were actually things related to vampires and the Volturi covered it up, blaming humans of course. And basically, I'm a problem they want to fix." That was the easiest way to sum them up. I just hope he got the point.

"What do you mean?" The way he said it was more like a growl. It caught me off guard.

I straightened my back a little and focused. "They are very protective about keeping vampires a secret. If a human finds out…" I paused for a minute to look at his face and then wished I didn't. "They have the option of either being turned into a vampire, or die. Well, at least that is what happened with me and their curious about me."

"And what does that mean for you?" he said in the same tone he had before.

"Edward and Alice assured them that I would become a vampire and they made a promise to pop up whenever they feel like it to make sure it was true. It was supposed to happen after graduation, but… Well, the newborns came and now here we are." I said, tossing my hands in the air a little.

He didn't say anything. He just stared at the floor, not moving except for the flow of vibrations I could feel rumbling through his body.

"Jake, calm down please. We'll deal with this. I don't even know for sure if that is who is coming." And I didn't, but I had a pretty good idea that it was.

"_They _took you there. _They _put you in that danger. _They_ are the cause of everything aren't they." he growled each sentence with more and more depth. The vibrations coming quicker and the whole couch was moving with him.

"Jake please, we can't talk about this calmly if you phase." I told him, hoping he would stop.

"Calm? Those _bloodsuckers_ took you to that place. She knew how bad it was, I remember. She took you there knowing there was a chance you may not come out alive and she did it anyways! She didn't even care! None of them do!"

"Jake I went willingly. I knew it was going to be bad-"

"But you went there to save _him_ anyways."

"Yeah, I did. It's just as much my fault as theirs." I said.

"No. You would do anything for anyone you loved and they knew that, _she _took advantage of that. You didn't know just how dangerous it was, _she_ did. _She_ should have stopped you. _She_ should have gone by herself, or with the rest of them damn…" he couldn't talk anymore. He just kept getting madder and madder.

I put my hands on each either side of his face softly as I knelt down in front of him, looking up into his deep black eyes.

"I'm here now. I'm alive and ok and I'm with you." I whispered.

"I know that, but they're coming for you now. How does that matter much when they are coming _here? _They are going to clearly see you are _not_ a vampire." His voice was more controlled, but he was still shaking.

I shifted onto my knees, taking my hands off his face, but still looking up at him. "Listen to me, if you calm down we can figure that out. I just need you to listen to me before you over react about the wrong thing. "

"The _wrong _thing?" he snapped.

"Yes."

"How is that not the _wrong _thing Bella?"

"They are coming for me yes, because I went to save Edward from getting himself killed by the Volturi and because Alice took me. And yes they will be coming here, but think about that. There is more in danger here than I am. Everyone in Forks is in Danger." I told him as I realized it. If they come here, there's no saying what could happen.

"What would they do to everyone?" he asked, taking on a calmer tone.

"I don't know for sure, but I do know they aren't like the Cullens. They are very hard with their rules to keep vampires a secret, but they don't agree with the animal blood drinking."

"Great. Now everyone could possibly die because of a damn suicidal vampire." He mumbled as he stood up, pulling me up with him. "We have to go tell the pack."

"Is there any way we can wait? I want to make sure first." I asked. No reason to get everyone all upset if I'm wrong. I don't think I am, but I had to be sure.

"How are you going to be sure?"

"I won't, but someone else might." The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no time. The Volturi move fast. "Never mind we don't have time. Let's go talk to the pack."

He paused for a moment to think about that, then he took off out the door and I followed. As we got out to the back of the house, I thought about how I could know for sure if the Volturi has decided to come or not. And I stopped just before we got to the trees.

"Jake."

He stopped a few feet in front of me as he was taking off his shirt. It took me a minute not get distracted. Amazing how he _could_ distract me from all of this.

"What?" he said as he smiled when he saw me starting at him, lost for a moment.

"Uh. Oh. I'm going to need to go talk to uh… Edward." I told him after I focused again.

"Why?" he almost growled.

"Alice can tell me if she sees them coming. It will help me know for sure."

He sighed. "Bella, I don't think-"

"Jacob, rather you like it or not, we might need their help." I told him. I didn't like involving them either, but we may need to and it wouldn't be easy. They came together for the newborns, even thought that was different, they were going to have to realize they might have to again. Rather anyone likes it or not.

"Not now. If _she_ has seen it already then they have time to prepare. Now we need to, just in case." He turned to walk away, but stopped. "I wonder if she has seen it if_ Edward _would even bother to tell you." He said his name with such disgust, it was almost worse than calling him a _bloodsucker _like he normally did.

"Ok, after we talk to the pack then." I said and he phased. I walked a little ways over to undress behind a tree and joined him, but not before I wondered if Alice _had_ already seen it and if she has, why Edward hadn't come to tell me.

When we passed it was only Seth, Embry and Jared that were there. They picked up on the tension and were instantly focused.

_What's going on?_ They all asked at about the same time.

_Let's get the rest of the pack here, then we'll explain. _Jake told them and then let out a howl that was way too loud.

_A little warning next time. _ I mumbled and I noticed that it hardly took anything to let them in my head this time. Glad to see that one thing is getting easier.

_Sorry._

It only took a few minutes for them all to join and the conversation started right away. Jake tried to repeat what I told him, then gave up and had me explain it. After a few minutes of descriptions, I remembered it would be easier to just picture the Volturi and what they could do instead. All at once they started to get upset.

_What the hell are we supposed to do?_

_I knew she would bring more problems._

_Why the hell did they take you to a place like that?_

_I think we can take them._

The swirl of voices was making me dizzy. Not being able to see where the voices are coming from, just seeing and hear what they were thinking at once was becoming too much. I didn't understand how any of them could handle that.

_So what do we do?_ Jake asked Sam.

Sam didn't know. I could hear him thinking it through and he was coming up with nothing.

_I thought about going and seeing the Cullens. _I told them.

_What? Why? _ Several of them asked. I wished they would think one by one.

_To talk to Alice, maybe she can see them coming and confirm if it's them or not. Maybe tell us how long we have._

_So you're not sure it's them at all? _Sam asked.

_No, but who else would it be? They are the worst _I _can imagine. And they had made a promise to come find me soon._

_And if you're not a vampire they say they will kill you?_ Jared asked.

_That's their plan. Though I don't know what they will do now. _I didn't really want to think about that either.

_Well I don't think you should involve them._ Paul snapped. _ I think we can handle this without them._

_I think she might have to. Without that one's visions we have no idea if that is who we're up against or when they will come. We will also need to know more about them. As much as I hate admitting we need their help now, we do, but she will not go alone._ Sam said.

_I'll go with her._ Jake told them.

_Ok. You go with her and meet them somewhere in an area we have access too. We will surround you, just in case. _

_Sam, I don't think that is necessary. They won't hurt me. _ I argued.

_Right, like they haven't almost before. You are one of us now and you will not be with them alone. Go call him and arrange a time to meet._

_Ok._

I didn't like having him tell me what to do. Especially since I knew Edward or Alice would never hurt me. He had a chance to and he didn't. Why would he now if I was with Jake? But still, I didn't argue anymore, there was no point. We had no idea how much time we had and arguing about something so stupid would get us nowhere.

I phased out and got dressed. When I walked out of the trees , Jake was walking up behind me,

"You're sure this is a good idea?" he asked.

"What other option do we have? They know the Volturi personally, well mainly Carlisle, but still. We can't do this alone. Trust me, if we could, I would rather we not involve them at all."

Jake just nodded and we walked into the house. He stopped and sat down at the kitchen table. I was glad I still remembered Edward's number, otherwise I would have to find a different way to talk to him.

Before I dialed, I thought of how I would ask him. I didn't seem to know how I should talk to him anymore. I haven't heard anything about the Cullens, not even enough to know they were still even here or not and what if they weren't?

After a moment of stalling, I took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

* * *

**_A/N: Had to take a break from writing for a while, been busy the past few days. So, what do you guys think? I know where I'm going with this and have pretty much the whole ending planned out and some details in between. Not sure how long it will all be, but for right now mostly everything is written down in little outlines lol. _**

**_Anyways... Please review. They make me happy =)_**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – _**Edwards POV**_

It was the last thing I could have ever imagined happening. It was the last thing I thought was possible. Here I had been worried about what I would turn her into; never in all my years would I have ever thought he would turn her into a monster too.

I guess the only real way to look at it is that, at least she is still _somewhat_ human. She can grow old with him and have babies. Only now, they really would be puppies. She wouldn't have to fight the constant urge to kill an innocent person, she would be protecting them instead.

Just because I could find a few decent points, doesn't mean that I was ok with it. Doesn't mean I don't miss her everyday that I don't get to see her, touch her, smell her, or have the peacefulness and the comfort of not worrying about what I might hear from her thoughts.

I know she didn't have a choice, but that doesn't make it any easier. The hardest part is that I have no choice but to let her go. I still couldn't believe it though. _She _imprinted on _him._ If it didn't hurt so badly, I might have laughed.

I couldn't get that image of her phasing out of my head, I honestly hadn't believed it until I saw that. Especially when she had me pinned to her truck, growling at me like she wanted to rip me apart. For a moment, I had thought she was going to and actually hoped she would have, but she looked more scared than anything else and I was scared for her. That was a very painful day.

I hated being in this town without her and I would be perfectly fine not ever coming back. Now when I see this place, I will always think of the beautiful, chocolate brown eyed girl, who made me feel more human than I had ever felt in over a hundred years. The pain from that is worse than anything I had ever felt before.

I know I said once before that I would always watch over her. If it wasn't me she chose, I would watch to see if she would ever change her mind. Watch to make sure he wouldn't either. But it turned out differently, imprints apparently don't change their minds, they can't and _she_ imprinted.

I could say that a million times and it wouldn't make any more sense, or hurt any less.

Even if I had wanted to watch over her, she was always across treaty line, where I'm not allowed to go. When she was at home, someone was watching her there too. So, why should I stay here? It was about time for us to move along anyways, but I would have never imagined it would be this hard. I had to get away, somehow it had to make it all hurt less, even though I've found out in the past that that was wrong. I fought hard to stay away from her since that day she phased and almost attacked me. I was doing really well too.

And yet there I was, all plans changed and I was going back to her once again.

It was about three o'clock in the afternoon when I heard Alice downstairs. Something was wrong, but she wasn't doing anything. I walked down stairs slowly and I realized it wasn't just a normal Alice panic. I tuned into her thoughts and I was horrified.

"When Alice?" I asked her, before I had even reached the bottom step. It's impossible to sneak up on a vampire, but I somehow managed it. She jumped and gasped, wide eyed.

"I-I don't know. I can't tell," she mumbled. That was the thing that really bugged me about her visions. The time and dates were hardly there, only because the ones who had made the decision, hadn't really decided that part yet. Or they were hiding it, which was worse.

"Find out," I growled at her.

The Volturi coming never meant anything good, and I knew why they were coming. Only thing is now, the situation would be worse than before, Bella was completely different and not in the way they wanted.

"What do we do Edward? I mean, things have changed, what could they do?"

Her brain was a confusing mess and if I was able to get a headache, I would of most definitely had one. All she kept thinking about was Bella and the werewolves. She still cares about Bella; _she_ understood what had happened. She was hurt of course, but she knew there was nothing that we could do. The other werewolves she could care less about, but since they were with Bella and would be with her when whatever was happening happened, she worried about that too. That was all I could get out of it all and I tried hard to tune her out.

"I don't know Alice. Even if I did, what am I supposed to do?" I snapped.

She looked stunned, face frozen, eyes fixed on the floor. She just shrugged. Then suddenly her face came to life.

"Alice I don't think I can do that," I responded to her thoughts.

"Why? You don't care about her enough to even warn her?" she yelled.

"How can I? She's always with them. And of course I still _care_ about her Alice, there will never be a day that I won't, but it hurts too bad to keep putting myself in her way."

"So you're still going to leave?" she asked suddenly.

"Alice, I don't… _What am I supposed to do_?" I said and my voice cracked. It was one of those moments that was as close to human as I could get. If I could create tears, it would have been hard to hold them in at that moment.

She sighed. "Then I will call her," she said moving over to the phone and I didn't stop her. I normally would have; would have told her to drop it when she was butting into Bella's life, but I was still so confused about what had happened I still had no control over my reactions and how could I really keep something like this from her?

No one answered the phone at her house; I knew she must have been out with _them_ again. I started getting angry, but stopped once Jasper walked into the room.

"What's going on?" he asked, eyeing us both, looking confused.

"Volturi," Alice told him, she had the hardest times keeping her mouth shut, though I didn't know why I was getting angry about it. I knew we had to tell the others anyways.

They went over the who and the when and she described the vision to him. He didn't understand it much either and told her what I did. Find out more.

The others weren't as understanding about this whole Bella phasing thing as Alice and I were. Actually, Carlisle and Esme were, of course, but Esme feels now as though she lost one of her own children. I think they just didn't get it, I couldn't blame them since I didn't either.

Carlisle wishes she would have came and told us herself, but is angry with himself by the way he reacted to her the last time he saw her and thinks that is why she didn't. When I had heard it in his thoughts the next day when I had finally come home he was angry with himself. That was one of many things I admired about Carlisle, not matter how angry something makes him, he remains as calm as always, but he slipped that day. He said he didn't know why he had slipped, but I knew it was because he was worried. He knew Bella wasn't planning on coming back to see us for whatever reasons she had. He feels bad now mainly because she wasn't doing it to be selfish, she was doing it because she was confused and didn't want to hurt us.

Bella was always more afraid of what other would feel about something that had been done to her, worried about other people in danger instead of herself. I tried not to think about her much, about any of it and the others tried not to think about it around me, though they couldn't always stop.

Rosalie on the other hand, well she purposely thought of things to hurt me. She said I was stupid enough to fall for her to begin with, and now I was stupid enough to let it hurt me. I try not to pay much attention to her, that wasn't very hard. Emmett was upset about it, but never let it show in front of Rose, otherwise she would throw a fit. Jasper, well… He never really was clear on how he felt about it. In his mind or out loud. I was ok with that too.

After a few minutes of thinking about all my options, I ran out of them. I used to be able to count on Alice's visions to see when Bella was about to go across treaty line, but now that she was one of them, she saw nothing. It was a little weird though; she could almost see Bella a little more clearly than the rest. The night of her vision, she saw Bella at home, even though she was barely there. Alice knew something wasn't right and now she blames herself, saying she should have warned her. I knew there was no use.

I came to the only other conclusion I had left. Wait at the line for Bella to cross it. She had to eventually. The last I knew she was still living with Charlie. I hated to go there again, wait for her to come across and see the confusion in her eyes. I knew she never expected to see me again, and that just added to the hurt.

I was just about to go to her and I suddenly heard my phone ringing upstairs. Without a second thought, I ran up to answer it. It was a number I didn't recognize, but I didn't let that stop me.

"Edward?" Her voice was just as sweet as before.

"What's wrong?" Her tone was off and I knew the only reason she would be calling me now would because something was wrong.

"Edward, I think we may need your help." Her voice was shaky and scared.

"Bella, what is it?"

"Ha-Has Alice seen anything?" she asked.

How could she know? She couldn't possibly know about the vision, about the Volturi… could she?

"Bella, how… What do you know?" I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well, that's why I'm calling. We knew something was going to happen, that was what caused me to phase… uh, long story. Anyways, so I spent days thinking about what could be bad enough, and well suddenly today, while finally combining many thoughts together; I realized the Volturi could be the only thing bad enough." She stopped and I could tell she was holding back tears. It was so hard to not drop the phone and run to her as I always had before.

"Yes, Bella. They are coming. Alice got the vision not too long ago." If the situation wasn't so serious I could have found a little humor in the fact that Bella realized the Volturi could be coming before Alice got the vision, but there was nothing humorous about this.

"Oh no," she whispered and paused for a moment. I tried not to listen too hard, but I could tell she was crying by the quickness in her breath. I heard a shuffle with the phone and a deep voice replaced hers.

"Can you meet us somewhere to talk?" Jacob asked, voice filled with hate and disgust; even more than normal.

"Sure. When?"

It was silent again, but I could slightly hear her voice telling him it couldn't be now because she had to get home soon to cook for Charlie soon. It was nice hearing that too much hasn't change, but I stopped myself from thinking about it. She wasn't mine to think about at all anymore.

"Tonight?" he asked, but I could hear Bella argue and then give in.

"Tonight will be fine."

"The clearing again?" he asked.

I assumed that meant the others were coming too. "Ok."

"Ok, we'll be there as soon as Bella can get out." And he hung up.

I thought about that for a moment. I couldn't really understand why they would want to meet with me, but before I could think about it Alice walked in the room.

"You're meeting them tonight?" she asked, confused.

"Yes. She knows."

"You told her." She sounded relieved.

"No. She knew, that was why she called me."

"What? How did she know? I just-"

"Something about what caused her to change. It meant something bad was coming and I'm guessing it means that they needed more wolves then what they had."

"And she guessed the Volturi?" she asked, still confused, but fighting a small smile.

"She said that they were the worst she could imagine and she knew she had to be right. And she was," I said, still not quite believing any of it.

"Well, she always has been smart. Well, on most things," she mumbled.

"Alice, let's not go into that."

"Sorry. I just miss her."

"I know. Trust me, I know." I said, shaking my head and turning to walk away.

"I'm going with you." She said.

There was no use arguing with Alice. She always knew when and where everyone was going and if she wanted to go, she would. If she wasn't allowed to leave with you, she would go anyways without you. I also knew it would be helpful for her to be there. She could explain herself what she saw and I knew Bella would like to see her, though I also know I shouldn't care anymore.

I tried to distract myself with knowing I had to now go explain it all to Carlisle and find out what he thinks we should do, but I couldn't completely stop thinking about Bella.

No matter what happens, no matter _who_, or _what_ she has become, deep down she will always be my Bella and I will _always_ love her.

* * *

**A/N: What do you guys think of Edward's point of view? I wasn't so sure about it while I was typing it, but I had to let him get his feelings in at least once. Sooo...... Review! Please =D**

_Also, I've had it pointed out to me that my grammar/typing pretty much sucks, ok maybe not in those exact words, but still, I'm working on it. Sometimes my best ideas come when I'm extremely tired and then I forget to completely go over it before I post it._


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The phone call had gone better than I thought, at least on my part. Finding out it was in fact the Volturi who were coming was an entirely different thing. I was terrified, not just for myself, but for everyone. One stupid incident led to more stupid ones and that leads to possibly many deaths. It took me a while to calm myself down enough to go home.

Once I did finally get home, it was easy to stay calm while distracting myself. I cooked dinner like normal, but this time watching how much I made. Didn't want Charlie to start thinking again. It all felt pretty normal, I could tell Charlie was ready to ask me another question, but he never did and I was glad.

After dinner, I did the dishes and put them away, cleaning the rest of the kitchen. I went up stairs and straightened up my room, though it didn't really need it since I was hardly home. At some point, I dozed off and woke up to hearing silence. I focused a little harder and I could hear Charlie in his room asleep. My nervousness kicked in again as I looked at the clock and realized it was time to go. I could only hope Charlie wouldn't wake up.

I changed my clothes, putting on something lighter and silently walked downstairs. It was dark and I was glad I didn't trip, not that I've done that a whole lot lately. I've never snuck out like this. The only other times I snuck out were with Edward and he jumped out the window with me on his back. With my luck, the front door would shut loudly or something and Charlie would realize I was gone as soon as I left.

Once I got out the door and walked away far enough quietly, I smiled and sighed. Just as I went to take another step a figure appeared out of the trees, I gasped, jumping backwards.

"Sorry Bells," Jake laughed quietly.

I sighed. "It's ok. Just a little amazed I made it out," I whispered.

"Yeah. Guess it's a good thing you're not as clumsy as you were before," He said, laughing louder.

"Shut it." And I laughed too.

"Well… Let's get this over with."

"Ok."

I walked over into the trees, off to the side of my house, and stripped down to phase. Just as I tied my clothes to my ankle, I looked up, caught Jake's eyes on me, and instantly phased. He started laughing, harder than before.

_Sorry Bells, _Jake said.

_Yeah whatever, _I laughed. Glad I couldn't blush in wolf form.

I was glad he didn't decide to share the image with everyone else. They were all pretty quiet; I could tell they were nervous too.

_Is he there yet? _ I asked. I could see that some of the pack was surrounding the clearing already.

_I think he's coming. I can't really see him, but I smell him, _Quil answered.

I ran a little faster, hoping to get there and get it all over with faster. Jake ran by my side. He was focused on staying calm. I could tell it was hard work.

When we finally got to the meeting area, I could see him. He looked the same as always. I don't why I expected different, but he just looked sad. I felt my heart ache again and decided then would be a good time to phase back, so I did once I got over to the trees far enough away from everyone.

I started to walk over to where Edward was standing, but Jake caught up with me, causing me to walk slower. I wanted to remind him everything was ok, but I didn't want to argue.

Edward was just standing there alone and for a moment I was curious why the others didn't come. I wondered if he had even told them yet.

"Hello Edward," I said once I was near him, stopping about three feet away.

"Hello Bella," he whispered. I could tell he was trying to keep his feelings felt locked up, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"One quick question first," I said suddenly. "Was the vision why you came to see me the other day?" I wasn't even sure why I had asked.

"No. I just wanted to talk to you."

The pain in his voice made my heart ache even more. I hated to see him in this kind of pain. I could see it in his eyes too clearly; I hated it. I hated knowing I was causing it and that there was not one thing I could do to fix it. I felt the tears start to build up in my eyes just as Jake cleared his through causing me to focus again. Maybe I wasn't as ok with it all as I had thought.

"So Alice did see the Volturi." I was a dumb thing to say, but I just needed to talk instead of think.

"Yes, they are coming. I actually was on my way to see you, to tell you when you called," he told me.

My strength lost the battle and the tears started to flow down my cheeks as I looked down to hide it. I don't know if was from Edward or from knowing that the Volturi are coming for me; most likely both.

Edward moved slightly, starting to reach his arms out to me, but Jake moved quickly in between us and I heard a quiet growl. Edward reacted by stepping in closer to him and letting out a snarling sound.

"Stop it!" I almost growled myself. Edward eyed me, but didn't say anything and looked back at Jacob.

They both straightened up and moved back, not taking their eyes off each other.

"Edward, do you know when they are coming." I sniffed and wiped the tears away with the back of my hands, trying to focus again.

"It's not clear yet. They have only made the decision to come, but not when," he said.

"Yeah, I know how that works," I mumbled just as I was starting to catch a new scent entering the area.

I jerked my head from side to side, trying to figure out what it was and trying not to panic, but once I looked back at Edward, I could see Alice standing behind him with a very slight, cautious smile on her face.

Before I could even give it a second thought, I ran to her. I could hear the surrounding wolves react, but I didn't care. I threw myself at her, hugging her has hard as I could.

"Oh Alice," I said, but then my nose couldn't take it anymore. "Wow." I cringed, covering my nose and laughed. It was a nice cover up to the new tears that were starting to fall.

"Bella, I've missed you," she said still holding onto my hand and laughing with me.

"Oh Alice, I'm so sorry. I should have told you… I shouldn't have… I would have if…" I tried to say so many things at once, nothing came out correctly.

"I know Bella. It's ok, Edward told me all about it and before that I knew something big had to have happened for you to just never talk to me again. At first I didn't believe it, but now…" She shook her head staring at me, sniffing a little and started to laugh a little. "It's hard not to believe it."

I glanced over to Edward and Jake, but stopped at Edward when I saw his sadness again. That brought be back to the seriousness of the situation.

I cleared my throat while I looked at the ground, trying to erase Edward's expressions from my mind. It hurt much more seeing what I have done to him, rather than just knowing it. I wanted so bad to wrap my arms around him and tell him it'll be ok. Though I knew it probably wouldn't be; not with everything going on now.

"What do we do? What is there to do before they come, if anything," I asked. I felt hopeless.

"Prepare anyway you can. There is no point in you running away now. Plus I suppose you can't just leave now anyways."

I just nodded my head. I'm stuck here, stuck bringing everyone down on the ones I love, like always.

"We can take care of ourselves," Jake added in. "We will figure out what to do."

"Oh really? Then why did you need Alice's visions to know?" Edward snapped.

"Shut up! There is no time for you to fight. What's happening is happening and there is no use in fighting over what can't be changed. We need to focus," I told them.

After a moment of thinking, Edward turned to look at me. "Have you told them what you know about the Volturi?"

I looked down. "Yes. I showed them the images of it all."

He nodded. "So they know pretty much what to expect then. There really isn't much we can do, but I will talk to Carlisle about it."

I suddenly remembered the last time I saw Carlisle and new tears formed and spilt over. Edward reached over and grabbed my hand, ignoring Jacob's growls.

"Bella, it's going to be ok," he told me.

"Oh, it's not that," I said sniffling. "The last time I saw Carlisle, he was pretty mad at me."

""Oh Bella," he lightly laughed with very little humor. "He wasn't mad at _you_ specifically. He was worried. I suppose even the most kept together man still lets anger out on the wrong people. I left and they didn't know where I was. He was worried about me and was curious why you didn't appear to be. He feels bad about the way he treated you."

It made sense. Carlisle was always so calm and rational about everything. I guess there are some times when the littlest things break you. I know that first hand. I could see Jake roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye as he made a weird sound. I stomped on his foot and he laughed. I knew he was doing that towards Edward using the word man, since he never sees vampires as men and women.

"I have an idea," Edward said after a moment. "I think one of you should come talk to Carlisle. He can explain things to you about the Volturi. Things Bella may not have."

"Ok I will go," I said as I smiled at Alice, who had been unusually quiet the whole time.

"Not alone," Jake said with another growl. He was doing a lot of that tonight. I wondered how he hadn't phased yet with how angry he kept getting.

"Jake I will be fine. They won't hurt me, I've told you that."

"_Not alone_," he said with more intensity.

"Why would I ever hurt her?" Edward said, using the same tone as Jake.

"Oh I can think of a few reasons. You've done it enough in the past," Jake snapped.

"Ok. Ok. Jake you can come as long as you don't keep overreacting."

"I'm not overreacting Bella. You just need to take this more seriously. You're not human anymore. You can't just go and hang out with _vampires_ anymore. Not that you should have before either, but still. We are enemies, you have to learn that."

I sighed as I lightly pushed Alice to walk forward. "Why don't you guys go one back. We will meet you there in a few minutes," I said with a smile.

After Edward and Alice had left, I walked over to the trees, glaring and Jacob. After I was phased back I heard the rush of the packs' voices in my head and I had to tell them all to be quiet for a minute. They we angry at me for agreeing to go and see Carlisle, but I didn't care.

_We need to find out more about them and to know if Alice sees more, _I told them.

_I don't think It's a good idea,_ Sam said.

_Why not? I will be fine. Yes they are your _enemies_, but after all this time, I know them better than that. They _will not_ hurt me. Especially not with you all there._

I don't know why I said that. They didn't all need to be there, but I caved. Their worrying was getting on my nerves and I had more to worry about than the Cullens possibly attacking me.

At once they finally agreed on them all coming. A few were just worried about me, the rest were hoping to get a good fight out of it.

_What about the treaty line?_ Seth asked.

_There is bigger problems to worry about,_ I told them.

I was waiting for Sam to yell at me, but he just agreed. I didn't mean to keep answering their questions, or telling them what to do, but everything is all so new and confusing, the rest is just terrifying.

_It's ok,_ Sam said.

I knew it was going to be hard getting used to having to listen to Sam, especially when he was angry all the time. This nicer Sam was just weird.

We all started running toward the Cullen's house. It was weird heading back there now. I was looking forward to seeing Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett, but I knew Rosalie wouldn't make it easy, she never did.

Once we got closer the pack spread apart. Jake and I walked a bit closer to phase. Once we left the trees, Alice walked out of the house and met us on the steps. She smiled at me as she stepped aside for us to walk in. I smiled back, but felt uncomfortable going into the house.

Once I got closer to the door, a strange smell hit me like a stack of brick and I stopped to catch my breath.

"It's ok Bells. It's the vampires. It's just worse because it's so many at once," Jake said.

I nodded as I turned to take in one huge deep break from the breeze that was going by, and then I walked into the house.

Esme got up off the couch and started walking towards me, but slowed while narrowing her eyes as she covered her nose. The expression on her face made me laugh.

"Hi Esme," I said, laughing still. "Good to see you too."

"I'm sorry Bella. I'm just not used to the smell, especially coming from you... I'm really glad to see you," she said as she dropped her hand and gave me a hug.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked her asked she backed away.

"Emmett, Rose, and Jasper went out to hunt," she said and the way she said it sounded like it was because we were coming over. Though I had wanted to see Emmett, I was happy about that. Dealing with less right now was better. Carlisle came downstairs then and he turned to smile at me.

"Hello Bella. It's good to see you," he said.

"Good you see you too," I told them both as I took in another breathe, trying to hold back the tears. It was turning out to be one emotional night.

"I'm sorry about the last time I saw you Bella," he started to say.

I waved my hand in the air. "It's ok. Edward explained. You can't always be expected to never get angry."

"Yes, but it really had nothing to do with you, so I shouldn't have."

"Actually, I believe it did."

"What do you mean?" he looked at me with confusion.

"I left Edward there. I didn't talk to him, never explained anything, I just left. He was hurt and so he left. You were worried about him because of what I did, but it's ok. I handled everything the wrong way, I know that now," I said with half of a smile. I didn't think it would be a relief telling them I knew I was wrong, but it was.

"It still does not give me a right to taking it out on you," he said.

"Well, I forgive you," I told him. No use in arguing about it.

"Ok, so now that that is over with, why don't we talk about the reason we are here," Jake said impatiently.

"Right, the Volturi," Carlisle said, expression unreadable.

I sat down on the couch while Carlisle explained things to Jake. I knew it all, but it would help if Jake heard it from Carlisle himself, rather he thought so or not. He told them about the rules and though he doesn't quite agree with them, he knows they have them for good reason. I could tell Jake didn't like hearing Carlisle talking about the Volturi in a good way. Honestly neither could I, not when they threatened to kill me.

At one point I didn't really mind what they were making me do. I wanted to become a vampire anyway, so Volturi saying that only confirmed that it really would be happening, but now, it's all entirely different. My main question now was, what would they do once they find out what I really am?

While I was sitting there thinking everything through, I didn't realize, right away, that Edward had sat down next to me.

"Hi," I said quietly.

"Hi," he said, looking away from me.

"Edward, I just want to say I'm sorry. I didn't tell you what had happened when I should have and then to make it all worse I almost attacked you when tried to tell you. I just did this whole thing the wrong way," I rambled.

"I know Bella. I know you can't control it, any of it." He stopped for a moment as he looked up at me. "I just miss you and I'm not going to deny that I hate seeing you with him. I hate knowing that I can't be the one comforting you with all that is going on."

I could hear the hurt in his voice. Tears started to form in my eyes and one broke loose. Edward brought his hand up to wipe it away with his thumb. At that exact moment Jake came into the room, but he didn't yell or get mad or anything. I was surprised, but then I realized he must have heard us talking. After all, he did tell me I should have talked to Edward about it.

"We should get going," Jake said as he reached for my hand. "The sun will be up soon and you need to get home before Charlie wakes up."

"So what's going on?" I asked, since I didn't hear any of it.

"We wait, just like we planned. We will prepare for what they can do, but hopefully they won't do anything, though I doubt that. You may not be human anymore, but like Carlisle said, they don't trust us werewolves. They might think that is worse than being human."

"So what, we just hope they hear us out and decide that there won't be anything to do? I doubt that too. They don't seem like type to just negotiate something like this," I said calmly, trying not to get upset again. I was tired and everything was just weighing down on me. I yawned as Jake pulled me up off the couch.

"We will talk about this more tomorrow."

I started to say my goodbyes to everyone when I turned to look at Alice, she was very focused. I knew that look..

"Alice? What's going on?" I asked as I walked over to her.

"She sees them coming," Edward said as he focused on what Alice was seeing. I started to panic.

"I can't tell when, but it doesn't look very soon," Alice whispered as she turned to look at me. "Judging by the trees in the area, it looks like maybe a little into the fall. It's not very far away, but better than coming now. Hopefully I'll get better timing as they think about it more."

There was maybe only about two months of summer left. No, it wasn't very far away, but she was right it was better than being worried that it could be tomorrow or the next day. I yawned again.

"Ok, time to go." Jake said again and led me to the door.

"Goodbye everyone," I said. I didn't have the energy anymore to say or hear anything more. I knew there had to be more to her vision, like who exactly was coming, but I didn't want to know right then. Since I was standing next to Alice, I gave her a hug and walked out the door.

After we got out and phased back, Jake explained everything to the pack. I was just focused on staying awake while I ran, making sure I didn't hit any trees. I barely missed some a couple of times and I could hear someone laughing at me. I was too focused to pay any attention.

Once Jake and I got to my house, I was standing out in front of the door, just about to go in when Jake stopped me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. As soon as his lips touched mine I felt every inch of my body spark with energy, I didn't think I had left, pulling myself closer to him. Our lips parted and the kiss intensified, I didn't want to let him go. I couldn't focus on anything, rather than to never have to ever let go of him. He held me tighter for a moment before he pulled away and kissed me one last time. I looked up at him and smiled.

"I love you Bella," He whispered in my ear.

"I love you Jake," I whispered back.

He backed away and walked until he disappeared into the trees. I was able to sneak back in and up into my room without Charlie waking up. I didn't bother changing, I just threw myself into bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

A/N: Let me know what you think. I had a little trouble with this chapter at first, so I hope it turned out ok.

http://twitter[dot]com/RachxMichelle - For updates and stuff.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

After such a long and emotional night, I had woken up feeling pretty well rested for once. It was a little comforting knowing there was still a little while before the Volturi would come. I wasn't quite sure how I able to and I knew it wasn't good, but I did it anyways. There was so little to really find comfort in lately. None of us were able to.

Jake and I were hardly able to really be alone and I missed the old days when we were so comfortable with each other. After everything has happened the main focus was pack stuff and when it's not neither of us could stop thinking about pack related things.

I've noticed it was the same with the guys and their imprints. Jared never had the time for Kim, Quil missed playing with Claire, even with Sam and Emily I could tell it was hard. I think secretly we all worked a little harder for that. The normal stuff.

Thinking of the normal stuff was what made me smile as I got out of bed finally. I went over to grab some clothes out of the dresser for my shower and I caught a look at my calendar. I think it was the first time I had looked at it in weeks. I wasn't even sure what the date was. That was a little strange, especially for me.

I forgot about everything once I was in the shower. The warmth of the water made my muscles relax and I realized that I had muscles I didn't even know were there. The smell of my shampoo always made me feel good too, after spending all day every day it forest with a bunch of guys.

Once I had gotten out, dried myself off, and got dressed, I walked downstairs and I must have just missed Charlie because his coffee cup was still a little warm. I put some pop tarts in the toaster and went to the fridge to poor some juice. I walked over to the table to put my juice down and I spotted the newspaper. Since the newborns, I never really cared to look at the paper again, but I glanced at it anyways.

I skimmed over the date and some of the headlines, nothing too major. After a moment of reading, my mind and body froze. I looked back at the date and thought of a couple of a couple things. As the toaster popped, one thought sunk through.

My period was late.

A rush of panic ran through me along with millions of different thoughts. _There was no way that could even be possible._

More and more absurd thoughts filled my head. At one point I was wondering if there were something else in the Legends that was unknown about the human girl who phased. The next thought was maybe Jake and I did do something and just didn't remember it.

_What the hell is going on here? It could be stress, couldn't it? I mean, I have been under a lot of that lately, _I thought, trying to calm myself.

Everything in my head was all pushed aside by the ringing of the phone and the growling in my stomach. I grabbed my pop tarts as I walked over to answer the phone.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey." It was Jake.

"Hi," I said, trying hard not to think about anything.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What? Oh, nothing. Just woke up," I lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Just wondering when you were coming out here. We have more stuff to discuss about last night and the uh, _Volturi_." I could tell he wasn't taking the Volturi very seriously. I sighed.

"I'm on my way. I was just making some pop tarts, but I'm leaving now."

"Ok. See you in a few."

"Yeah," I said as I hung up.

If I was really trying to convince him nothing was wrong, I did a horrible job. I don't know how to bring it up to him, or even if I should, but I was really curious. I've never had to worry about such a thing and once I did, it was terrifying.

I thought about it the whole way over to Jake's house. I thought of all the possibilities.

I thought about how it could have stopped because of what I have become, or maybe that there was something wrong with me. I was never too big on the possibilities of having kids, but once I thought it might not be an option anymore, I realized that one day I would want at least one. And if I couldn't, how would Jake feel about that? I had to stop myself from thinking. That might not even be the case, so I was worrying over probably nothing.

I was relieved once I got to Jake's, he was always a good distraction, but once I got out of my truck and walked up to the door, I didn't really feel much better. Right as I got to the door another thought popped into my head. I vaguely remember something, thought I'm not sure from where, but something about Leah and something about the having the same problem. I would have to ask her about that… Then again, maybe not.

Just as I reached my hand up to knock Jake opened the door.

"Hey Bells," he said as he gave me a hug and a kiss.

"Hey," I said, trying to snap myself back to the present.

"Are you sure there is nothing wrong? You seem deep in thought about something." He was staring at me through narrow, confused eyes.

I put on the most believable smile I could. "I'm fine. So, what are we doing now?"

I didn't know if he believed the smile or not, but either way, he dropped it.

"We're having a meeting, but since the most of the pack is out on patrol, we're just going out back. We should probably get going now; I think most of them are out there already."

"Ok let's go then."

I would rather be in someone else's thoughts than my own right now. Hopefully it will stop me from thinking about it. It didn't help much though, I was still thinking my problem when we phased, but I caught myself and focused on what Sam was saying.

_So we're going to have to patrol now more than ever. Everyone is going to have to help out so we can all make sure we get sleep too. I don't care what the little leech says, we stay focused and keep up your strength; always be prepared. Bella, that means you too. We're going to need you out there as well, though there we will be someone extra out the same time as you, since well… you know,_ Sam told us.

_Yeah. That's fine with me. What times would be best?_ I needed anything to distract me from what was going on. I hated the fact that it meant even less alone time with Jake, but unfortunately it was needed.

_I think for your sake it would be best if you switched on an off days and nights. If you keep sneaking out every night Charlie will eventually notice and if you are out everyday, he will question you more. Does that sound out with everyone? You will start your shift tonight at about… One am._

_Sounds good. _I said, and everyone else agreed too. It was weird, but I was actually looking forward to it. I shook my head at the crazy thought and Jake and Quil laughed.

While everyone else was going over there next shifts and who wanted which time and why, my mind slipped again and I regretted it. Before I could even think '_It was late_' everyone was silent. I froze with embarrassment, everyone stayed quiet, except for Leah and Jake.

_Bella? What do you mean? _Jake asked.

_Late how? _Leah asked, her tone wasn't her usual angry tone she used towards me.

_I well… Uh,_ I didn't know what to say first. I could see all the questions flashing through everyone's heads at once.

Most of the guys were thinking that Jake messed up and "_knocked me up". _Sam was wondering how the hell it happened. Apparently he know more than I thought he did. Jake was still wondering what I meant, because he knew we hadn't done anything and for a split second he wondered if I was with anyone other than Edward. I was about to yell at him, but then he told himself it was stupid and went back to questioning what I had meant. Leah's thoughts stood out the most to me though; she wondered if it was possibly the same thing that was wrong with her.

My brain was throbbing, all of that from three tiny words.

_Shut up please! _I yelled. I couldn't take it anymore. All their accusations were like a weight pushing me down, I couldn't even form my own thoughts as I tried to answer them, but all at once they were quiet for a moment.

_Bella, can you explain please?_ Jake asked. He sounded hurt.

_Ok it's nothing like what you guys are thinking, seriously. I'm a… I mean, I haven't… Damnit! I don't know why I'm late. I just noticed it this morning. No Jake didn't "_knock me up"_ and no I wasn't with anyone else. There is no reason to explain it,_ I snapped. It came out more of a growl though and I was too angry to hear anyone else's thoughts. I was wishing more than anything I could phase back. The pressure from them all was way too much.

_Either you guys phase back or we will. Either way Bella, you and I should talk. _Sam said.

_What?_ I didn't even think about talking to Sam about it. I didn't want to. It was hard enough thinking about talking to Jake about it. I ran while focusing hard on changing back, even though I was angry, I was able too. I heard Jake start to say something as I phased, but I ignored him.

I got dressed in a hurry, I had no idea who would it would be that would come after me and at this point I didn't really care. After I was fully dressed I started walking towards the beach, but Sam stopped me.

"Bella, are you ok?" he asked.

"I wish people would stop asking me that," I mumbled as I kicked a pile of rocks.

He looked confused for a moment, but then he nodded. "So can you tell me what exactly is going on now that we're alone and I can hear it?"

I hated having to talk to a guy about this and of all the guys there, it had to be Sam. Kind of sucks being a girl in a pack of guys, well except for Leah…

I sighed and started to explain. "I didn't mean to start such a big thing about it and I'm sorry I did. It's just that I noticed the date this morning and started thinking about how fast the time has gone by, then I the thought popped in out of nowhere. I know for a fact I'm not pregnant, so I have no idea what it could be. I'm worried something might be wrong with me." I blurted it all out. There was no use in hiding it, he would hear it sooner or later, even if I preferred later, I still had to tell him.

"Hmm…" he said.

_That's it? All I get is a Hmm….? That's just lovely._

I turned the opposite direction, trying to walk away from him. Stupid guys, no point in talking to them, they never understand.

"Hey, wait a minute," he called as he ran to catch back up with me.

"What?" I stopped and turned to face him.

"Why don't you let me handle this," I heard Leah call from the trees. _Great._ Least she _might_ be able to help.

"Good timing," Sam told her.

"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you go back to the pack and let us talk," she told him.

"Sure." He said. He smiled at me once as he turned to walk away. I wasn't sure what was meant by the smile, but I'm pretty sure it meant more _Good Luck_ than anything.

I sighed impatiently "What Leah?" I asked her. Suddenly now, more than anything, I just wanted to go home and crawl back into bed.

"I think I know what you're going through," she said.

"Oh, really?" I said a little sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm trying to be nice here. If you don't want me to be, then hell I don't care, but you won't catch me trying again," she said as she was turning to walk away.

"I'm sorry. There is just so much happening at once and I think it's finally all starting to sink in. I'm really never going to be the same again," I said, as I realized it. I knew I things would be different, but it have never officially sunk in that it all was_ really_ different now.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she whispered and I started to see a side of Leah I never have before. Understanding.

"So what, you had the same problem I am having?" I asked, cutting to the point.

"Yeah, I was freaked out too, but I just accepted it as a part of being what I am. As if being the only girl werewolf wasn't enough, then I lose the only thing that would have helped make me still feel somewhat normal. I mean, it's nice not having to worry about it," she laughed. It was a little unsettling; not something I was used to from her. "But it's the point behind it. We're not normal anymore. I guess, I mean, at least I'm not the only girl anymore, but that also seems to mean you're going through that same thing."

"What does it mean?"

"You know, I'm still not really sure. Seeing how I guess I was the first girl to become a werewolf, no one really knew the answer to it. No one has even really discussed the possibilities with me, so I take that to mean that it's probably something I don't want to hear anyway. I don't even think about it anymore, until today."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say. I was hoping she would have some explanation for me, but this didn't really help me feel any better except for knowing I wasn't alone in the situation. "So you're sure I'm going through the same thing?" I still had to make sure.

"We'll I'm pretty sure. I think Sam thinks it's the same too. At least I know now it doesn't mean there's something wrong with me specifically," she said as she stared off into the waves as we reached them.

I thought about all the possibilities for a while. I was thankful that at least I had someone to talk to about it all, unlike Leah had.

"I always hoped one day I would find out the reason this all happened and if there was way to fix it. I hoped that maybe soon I could get the chance to really talk to someone about it. I would have never thought that that someone would have been you." She laughed again, still lost in her thoughts.

"Yeah," I mumbled, while I was thinking about it all.

"You just keep surprising us," she said and I didn't respond. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was weird talking to Leah normally, but it was kind of nice not having her hate me, at least not at that moment. Who knew what would happen when the conversation was over. I went back to focusing.

Since it was something that becoming a werewolf triggered, there had to be a reason, but I didn't know where to start thinking.

_It could be health related, since everything involving the female body changes was to create and carry a child. You can't really carry a child while phasing back and forth between wolf and human. Could you? _

The thoughts were coming in so fast that I didn't even realize I had stopped walking until I noticed Leah walking back to me.

As soon as the word changes entered my mind, everything became more clear. It finally occurred to me that if you phase, your body stops changing at a certain point; you don't grow and if you don't grow, then how can you create a child? If our bodies stop changing, then that means everything normal stops changing too. It made sense. It's sort of like vampires, they don't change, so they can't have children. Only difference there is, they are dead. We were just… Werewolves. I told Leah all of that, leaving out the part about the vampires.

"That does make sense," she said. "I had thought about it like that once, but I always just assumed that me changing into a wolf just meant that there was something wrong with me before and then adding in the part about me not imprinting, then that just made it really seem that way."

"Well, not all of the guys have imprinted yet either, and well I've imprinted," I said, laughing at how silly it sounded. Imprinting before I was even phasing, before I even knew anything, when I was human. "So that doesn't mean that that is the reason why you became one in the first place. It's probably just because… Well, you know the reasons why we've started phasing." Even though I understood the reasoning, I still didn't like blaming it all on the Cullens.

"Yeah, the damn bloodsuckers. I never could and still can't see how you could love them so damn much. It's disgusting." Her tone filled with disgust as she spit the words out.

"Can we focus on one thing at a time here please?"

"Yeah, sure. So you really think that is why? If we stop phasing, we should be able to go back to normal?" she said and she looked confused again.

"That's what I think, since when you stop phasing, you start growing and aging again." I said, but she looked deep in thought.

"Sam said once that he thought the reason we imprinted was to find the perfect mate, or something like that. It had to do with building stronger families and keeping the werewolf gene."

"That could be the reason why. That just means our families will have to wait a while. In your case, I guess you just have to wait until you imprint. Then you can stop phasing, hopefully, and things can start to get normal again," I said, thinking about it as I was saying it.

"Are you always so damn optimistic about things?" she asked with a little humor, but also annoyance.

"Well, I try to be," I said and laughed.

"Well, that is something to look forward to, but what if the damn leeches never leave or what if more come if they do?" She asked, but I could tell she didn't really expect me to answer. "The whole thing just sucks."

"Yeah, I guess it does, but I haven't really had the time to hate it, or even not like it yet. Right now, I still don't know what to think about it all. I've really just been handling one thing wrong at a time." I sat down on the sand, staring into the waves. Leah sat a few feet away.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I know you don't want to hear it," I told her.

"Just tell me."

I sighed. "The way I handled things with Edward, I still feel bad about just leaving him like I did. I can see how much it hurts him and there is nothing I can do about it."

"He'll get over it." She smirked.

"Like you got over Sam?" I blurted and instantly regretted it. If looks could kill, I would have been torn to shreds right then.

"That is something totally different Bella. Don't compare my problems with those-" She didn't finish, she just looked down and sighed.

"I'm sorry Leah, but I don't see the difference. Edward and I loved each other. Once I imprinted, I couldn't be with him anymore; that love didn't matter. I had to let him go and now I belong with Jacob. I see many similarities there."

"That Edward cannot possibly be hurting as much as I did, as much as I do," she argued.

"I seen that same look you have now in his eyes last night. I hear it in his voice and see it in the way he moves. No, I may not love him the way I did before, but not all feelings are gone, they are just no longer acted on. I love Jacob more than anything in the world and I am happy with him. I just wish there was a way for Edward to move on and be happy too. I hate seeing him hurting over this."

"I can't sympathize with a vampire Bella."

"I'm not asking you to. I'm simply saying the situations are similar and maybe you can see a little into Sam's point of view. Know that he never meant to you hurt, that he simply had no choice in the matter. I'm sure if he could, he would go back and handle the situation differently, but we can't. We can only hope that the ones we left behind can someday find the same happiness we have now. Also like Sam, I just have to deal with what has happened and not feel so horrible about it, thought I don't see how I can. Not with everything going on now."

"Ok. Ok. I get it. I really do. Can we just stop talking about it now, since like you said, there isn't anything anyone can do about these damn situations?"

"Yeah, sure. Well, since we've talked about what we needed to, we can go back now," I said as I stood up, dusting the sand off myself.

"Ok. Bella," she paused for a moment, waiting for me to turn to look at her. Her expression was unreadable. She seemed to be struggling with whatever she was about to say. "I don't hate you. I just never really understood you, never understood how you could have chosen to be with someone like _him_. I still don't, but while we're talking about this stuff, part of my problem with you was, for a while I thought you were going to chose Jake. I was worried that you were going to get hurt too if he imprinted on someone after you chose him. I was angry because of what I was going through, and well, still am. I was angry again because you stayed with _him_ after knowing what he has caused us.

"I have my reasons for being the way I am and I don't feel the need to explain it. I'm just trying to say that you're alright now that I've talked to you a little and got a chance to see where you're coming from. Like I said, I still don't understand a lot of your decisions and that's ok, I don't need to, but rather I'd like to admit it or not, it's nice having someone to talk to about this who actually knows what I'm going through. Even if it's you." She smiled a little.

I just nodded and smiled back.

It was still weird talking to Leah about everything, but like she said, it was nice to talk to someone who knows what you are going through, or can at least relate to things in some way. I could understand now why she hated the Cullens so much. To her, they are the reason she lost Sam to begin with. I understood all of that and in a way, I agreed. It was odd to admit, but I was actually starting to like Leah.

* * *

A/N: I hope this chapter is ok. I wanted to get Leah and Bella to communicate more and I wanted to add in those problems Leah was talking about in Breaking Dawn.  
Well, I hope you guys like it. I could have probably sat here and rewrote it a few more times, but I figured I would just leave it like this. Let me know. =)

Also... This fic is nominated in the Wolfpack Awards! It's in the categories: Most Original Plot, Best Imprint, and Best WIP. Go to this link to vote: http://wolfpackawards[dot]webs[dot]com/vote[dot]htm or link in my profile. Even if you don't review, you can always vote ;) First time being nominated, so I'm happy.

_Twitter:_ http://twitter[dot]com/RachxMichelle


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

After talking to Leah, I decided to go back to Jake's house. I was surprised to see him sitting on the front porch when I got there, half asleep.

"Jake," I said, walking up to sit next to him.

"Yeah? Oh hey," he said with a yawn. "I didn't know how long you would be, so I just thought I would sit here and wait for you. I was just about to go make sure you were still alive," he laughed.

"Yep. I'm just fine," I said with a smile.

"So you're ok now?"

"Yeah."

"It's the same thing that Leah went through?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Yep. Just a part of being a werewolf," I added.

"Oh." He sounded upset.

"What?"

"What does that mean, like for the future and all?" If he was asking what I think he was asking, I never really put much thought into the future that way.

"I don't know. Leah and I have a theory. We don't know how true it is, but it seems about right."

"And what's that?" he asked, sounding truly interested.

"Well, without getting too into it, we think that since we aren't aging or changing anymore, that our bodies don't go through it's normal changes. We think that once we stop phasing, it will all go back to normal. Make sense?"

"Yeah, it does actually." He smiled while wrapping an arm around me and I leaned into him. "Kids are still an option in the future, but just not right now. That sounds ok."

"Sounds ok to me too," I said and I wondered what he was thinking about the kids subject. I haven't really thought about it much. I never really picture myself as a mother. I enjoyed other people's kids, but my own? The thought was kind of scary.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing really. "

"I don't believe you," he said with a laugh.

"Well, I was just thinking about the whole subject of kids and having one of my own. I never could picture myself as a mother, still can't really, but when I thought there might be a chance that I wouldn't have that option, yeah I was assuming the worst of course, I was sad thinking about it. I don't know, I'm just glad the option is still there, if and when the decision comes up."

"And I'm sure it will. I wouldn't mind it one day," he said, smiling at me as I looked up at him.

"You've thought about it before?"

"Well yeah. I mean, once or twice, when I thought about the future with you. Not so much just the having a kid part, but more of the process of getting one. " I took me a minute to get what he meant. I slapped his arm and he laughed. "Kidding! Kidding! But really, it will happen when the time comes and when everything is the way it's supposed to be. "

I thought back a little to the kiss that led to all of this and the image I had of what our future could be and smiled, hoping it was the future I would get.

The moment seemed to be perfect; just sitting on the porch in Jacob's arms, thinking about our future together in complete comfortable silence. It really couldn't get much better than that. A couple negative thoughts tried to creep up, but I pushed them back. Nothing was going to ruin that moment and nothing did.

By the time it was starting to get dark, I decided it was time to get home. I needed to get dinner ready and still have time to rest before I had to go out on patrol tonight. I was still actually looking forward to it. I was going to get my chance to see what Jake had done all the time, before all the new stuff happened.

Once I had gotten home, I went upstairs to change my clothes and clean up a bit. Charlie had gotten home by the time I was starting dinner. I could tell he had a good day at work, he looked happy.

"Hey Dad," I called as he walked in.

"Hey Bells."

"How was your day?"

"It was good. Not much to do, so we all just sat around playing cards and straightened stuff up. How about you?"

"Great," I said with a smile.

"Glad to hear. How's Jake?"

"He's good."

"What did you guys do all day?" he asked. _Great, here he goes with the questions again._

"Well we all just sat around and hung out. I spent most of the day with Leah though, " I told him and it _was_ the truth.

"Sounds nice," he said as he disappeared into the living room. _Why did he never believe me when I was actually telling the truth?_

As I was finishing dinner, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bells, I just wanted to ask if you wanted me to patrol with you tonight? Quil volunteered to be the extra person with you and Jared tonight, but I thought I would ask. He wants patrol at nights so he can spend more time with Claire during the day." He laughed.

I thought about it for a moment and remembered him almost falling asleep earlier while he was waiting for me. "Actually, I'll be fine with them. You need to sleep. Next time you can, okay?"

"Are you sure? I don't mind."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Who was that?" Charlie yelled as I was hanging up the phone.

"It was just Jake," I told him. "Dinner's ready."

Dinner was quiet like normal. I could tell there was something he wanted to say, but he never said anything. It wasn't until after I had finished the dishes and was heading upstairs he said something.

"Bella, is everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why?" I knew this is what he was thinking about all through dinner, but I couldn't understand why because at that time, everything was ok.

"Just asking," he said as he walked back over to the couch. I guess that was the end of that, but I could clearly see this was nowhere nears being over with. The discussion we had over at Jake's the other day was only dragging on, just as I feared.

I let it go and ran upstairs to lie down for a while. I was more tired than I had thought I was and was getting worried that I would fall asleep, so I dug around in the closet for my old alarm clock. I didn't use it anymore, because for some reason it was much quieter than my normal alarm and it rarely woke me up, but I figured that tonight it might work out fine. I hoped that it really would be quiet enough that Charlie wouldn't hear. Luckily he was usually in deep sleep by one in the morning.

It was about nine o'clock by the time I got settled into bed and decided that I had enough time to sleep a little. By the time I was starting to fall asleep, I realized that I forgot to tell Charlie I was going to bed, but it was too late, I was out.

Right as my eyes slid shut, a dream started. It was oddly bright out and I was standing in the middle of someone's yard, smiling. As I turned I could see about twenty people all gathered around having a good time, talking and laughing. I noticed the pack members first, along with the council members. As I kept looking around, I noticed Charlie sitting with Billy, but didn't pay much attention to them when I saw two kids running around, giggling and screaming. Jake was chasing them.

Emily called out to let everyone know the food was ready and I noticed one of the kids Jake was chasing was her and Sam's child, because he ran to her yelling "Mommy." Jake picked up the other adorable little boy and I had to blink a couple of times before I really noticed the resemblance. He looked exactly like Jake, except he had a little bit of a curl to his hair. He had to about two years old. Jake was tossing him into the air and tickling him, both laughing loudly as I stood there watching them with a proud smile. He must have been _ours_.

I walked over to them, Jake put his arm around me, the little boy reached out to me, and without a second thought I grabbed him, pulling him in for a hug. The three of us started walking towards what I recognized as Emily and Sam's house, but I stopped halfway went I caught a scent of something that made my nose burn. I turned quickly towards the scent as I set the little boy down, pointing towards Charlie and he ran to him. My dad didn't even take a second look before his expression changed and he took the little boy into the house.

Jake dropped his arm from around me and we were both now staring at a black shadow in the trees, which was now growling viciously at us. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, my body was shaking and I phased within seconds, running as fast as I could at the vampire. I leaped into the air and heard a strange faint buzzing noise surrounding me. My eyes shot open and I was back in my room.

I reached over, shut off my alarm, and couldn't believe it was already twelve thirty and I couldn't believe the dream I had just had. I laid in bed, still for a few moments to see if I could hear any movements coming from Charlie's room. Once it seemed quiet enough, I crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom to fix my hair, and decided to change into my sweat pants and tank top since it would be easier. I also decided that it would be easier to just not wear any shoes at all.

After I was ready to go, I thought about how exactly I was getting out of the house. I wasn't brave enough to try the window just yet, in fear that my clumsiness would come back at that moment and I'd break something. Even though I'm sure it would heal fast, haven't tried that out yet, I didn't want to go through the pain of it. In the end, the front door was my best chance, though a slim one. I was sure I wouldn't make it out unnoticed two nights in a row.

I tip-toed quietly down the stairs as I thought that if I was to get caught in the house, at least I looked like I was in my sleeping clothes. Actually, I was. Once I got to the door , I turned the lock with my eyes closed and it pulled it open, stepped outside, and pulled it closed quietly and smiled. I listened for a moment and still heard nothing. I quickly ran to the trees next to the house, checking the area before taking my clothes off to phase.

_You made it,_ Quil said.

_Yep._

_We thought you were going to get busted this time, _Jared added.

_Yeah, me too. _I laughed a little.

_Ok, well Bella you can stay over in that area, you should be ok as long as you stay in covered areas. Just keep focused on what you're seeing and hearing, _Jared told me.

_Ok. Got it._ I was still a little tired and I yawned as I walked farther away from my house, slowly starting to feel that excitement again. Quil laughed.

_Man, Jake was mad that I volunteered to run tonight. He wanted to have the same shifts as you, so you guys could be together, but when you told him no he got all irritated and just went to bed._

_It's not that I didn't want him too, it was just obvious he needed his sleep. For some reason he seems to not be sleeping much lately._

_Yeah, he's pretty focused on those damn leeches that are coming. Trying to run all patrols while you two aren't together just in case. He always says he wants to find them first._

_Trust me, none of you want to find them when you are alone._ I said, trying not to imagine what could happen.

_Yeah, he thinks he can handle anything._ Jared added in.

_Uh, you all do. Maybe one vampire at a time you can, but the Volturi… no way._

_So what, do they all have these power like things they can use from far away?_ Jared asked.

_Well… _ I thought for a moment, getting together the images to fit the names and their abilities. _Jane can make you think you are in extremely horrible pain, when there is nothing wrong with you. When she stops, you are able to stand up like nothing ever happened. _I showed them what happened when she used it on Edward when we were in Italy. They both groaned a little._ Alec can shut off all your senses. While he's using his ability, you can't hear, see, smell, or feel anything. It's kind of like your whole body shuts down. I heard they use that when they occasionally take pity on whoever they are punishing, so they won't feel what's coming. Aro, well all he can do is hear and see every thought that has ever entered your head, but he has to be touching you while he does it. That's all I really know of._ I thought of the tracker one, but he wasn't really worth mentioning.

_So how do we stop them? _Quil asked.

_That's the problem. I don't think we can. We're hoping that they will listen to what's going on and change their mind. Carlisle thinks they will listen, but is afraid of their reactions afterwards. I just try not to think about it. They don't honor truces with werewolves, they don't trust them, I mean us, so I can already tell the outcome will not be good._

_So we got to get to them before they have the time to decide what to do._

_That's not possible Quil. I really don't know what there is to do except wait and hope for the best._

_Alright, we'll stop talking about it._ He said and he went back to focusing on his patrol.

_Thanks._ I sniffed at everything and watched carefully. It was all new to me; being out in the woods at night and actually being able to see things that I couldn't before and smell things I never really paid attention too. It was pretty cool.

The time seemed to go by faster than I had thought. I had no idea what time it was, but I could tell the sun had started to rise by the tint in the sky to the east. Quil had fallen asleep about an hour before and Jared was about to as he was thinking about Kim again. He thought about her a lot, I ignored most of it.

By morning I was starting to get bored. I had covered every area twice and I was now on my way back home. I hoped that my next patrol I could go somewhere different. Once I was finally close enough to my house to tell that Charlie was still asleep, I realized that that would be my next problem. He would be waking up soon and me sneaking in could be harder than sneaking out. While I was in the middle of the thought Sam phased in.

_So, how did everything go last night? _ he asked.

_Good. Well, nothing out of the ordinary anyway,_ I told him.

_That's good. Well you can go ahead and go back now._

_Ok. See you later._

_Hey , wait a sec._ He called right as I was about to change back. _ I was thinking and I've decided that maybe we need to switch the timing a little. Maybe you can start earlier at night so you don't have to worry about the timing when you go home. Also, after your day shift tomorrow, if you like that better maybe you can stick to that. It's up to you. Think about it and let me know._

_Ok, I will. Earlier nights would be easier. I'm just hoping that I'm able to make it in now. _

_Well, just go in now and if not I'll think of something._

I laughed slightly. _Alright. See you._

I changed back, got dressed fast and ran to my front door. It was still soundless inside and I was pretty sure he was still asleep. I opened the door quietly and walked inside. I stopped for a moment and it was still silent. I closed the door and went into the kitchen to get some water. I left my glass on the counter just in case I needed the excuse. I glanced at the clock and it was a quarter to six, perfect timing.

I made it to my room quietly and fell asleep before Charlie even woke up.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to post this. Unfortunately life gets distracting. Lol. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter. Don't forget to review. =) **

**Also, the Wolfpack Awards are still going on. Voting ends in 3 days. - http://wolfpackawards[dot]webs[dot]com/vote[dot]htm **

**My story is nominated for 3 and there are some really great stories nomiated as well, so go vote.  
**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

When I woke up, the sun was shining dimly into my room. I blinked my eyes a couple times before I glanced at the clock and was relieved that it was just barely noon. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what I was going to do. My days seemed only to consist of being at Jake's house or running around with the pack. I was in need for a little change, though had no idea what there was to do anymore.

I thought about all the things I had done before the huge change had happened, but so many things had changed, before and after, I had no idea what to do. I didn't have work anymore since I had let Mrs. Newton know that I was going away. Even though the plans had changed, I didn't go to try and get the job back. I was so happy about graduating, so happy to be leaving with Edward soon after, that I had never thought about what would happen if all that had changed. I never let the thought enter my mind.

It's not that I didn't want to spend my days with Jake, I did, it was just that we never really spent time alone. To be truthful, it was quite annoying to have the pack constantly with us. It was bad enough having them know all your thoughts and feelings, but to be in on every moment, nothing left personal, that was really getting to me. The more I thought about it though, the more I was hopeless. At least until the Volturi have come and gone, the days would be boring, repeated, and crowed.

With that, I gave a heavy sigh and forced myself out of bed. After the night before, I was in need of a nice hot shower and a nice big… lunch. The new schedule was really going to take some getting used to.

***

After I had taken my shower and finished cleaning up the kitchen from lunch, I decided to head over to Jake's house. I didn't feel the need to call; with the schedule lately, they should have known. I grabbed my keys and made sure I locked the door on my way out. As I got into my truck, something was off, but I couldn't quite place what it was. I ignored it while I climbed in and drove away.

I got halfway to La Push, when I had an odd feeling of being watched. I slowed my truck, my face prickling as the cool air stopped blowing across my face, I glance in every direction. I listened carefully, but I still couldn't hear, or see anything. A shiver ran down my spine, causing my body to shake with it, though I wasn't cold. Something was definitely off.

A light breeze picked up and though before I could only smell the scent of the forest, something now struck my nose sharply. Something sickly sweet. An unfamiliar smell of something that could only be recognized as one thing. Before I could gather all of what was going on, I slammed my foot on the gas and forced my truck to go as fast as it could, pushing it to its limit. It groaned and jolted as it tried to keep running and I feared for my life that it would die right here, right as _they_ were waiting.

In what seemed like forever, I finally arrived at the house. I had never wanted to enter that old front door more than I had at that exact moment. I got out of my truck and ran, not even paying attention to the door that I had left wide open. I ran straight into the house and was terrified not to see anyone there. My breathing got heavy as I started to panic. Immediately I thought the worst and the tears broke loose, as terror sunk deep.

"Jake!" I screamed, running into his room. Nothing.

I stopped for a moment in the middle of the kitchen, listening, but couldn't hear a thing anywhere.

"Jake!" I screamed again. This time I ran out of the house, suddenly not caring what could be out there to waiting for me. But again, nothing.

I ran to the garage, but he there was no sign of him. I thought hard about what he could have been doing, but couldn't remember a mentioning of plans for the day. I couldn't think of anything else, so I phased, but before I had taken my clothes off.

_Damnit! _I thought, as I watched my clothes fall to the ground.

_What's going on Bella? _ Seth asked.

_Where's Jake?_

_He's cliff diving with Embry. What's wrong?_

_Something… Something close by, _I said, thinking through everything that had happened since I walked out of my front door.

_I haven't been over in that area today. It was by your house? Uh, why don't I get Sam. I'm not too far from there._

I sat in Jake's back yard as I waited for Seth to come back with Sam. I felt that I wasn't alone, so one of the guys must have been sleeping and I knew it must have been Paul with the images of attacking and killing vampires in his dreams. I laughed lightly, but it was barely funny since such a thing could be happening so soon. Within five minutes I was joined by Sam and Seth.

_What's going on Bella? Seth says something about someone being near your house and then following you here? _ Sam said.

_I'm not sure really. Something seemed off outside of my house, but I ignore it. Then on the way here I had an odd feeling of being watched, when I stopped my car I smelt it and didn't waste no time getting out of there. Though I think I about killed my truck. _

_Ok, I'm on my way over there now. Seth how about you run over and get the rest of the guys. Paul! Wake up, _Sam ordered.

_What? Oh, damn , the dream was just getting good too, _Paul complained.

_I can see, _I mumbled.

I wondered why he didn't just howl to get their attention, but I realized quickly that that would warn whoever was watching me. I kept thinking over everything, thinking maybe I had overreacted, Sam filled Paul and Quil, who had just joined us, in on what was going on. I thought over the panic I had with not seeing Jake at his house. Somewhere deep down I knew he was ok, but_ I_ needed _him_, because I wasn't, or might not have been.

I sat there behind Jake's house, still not moving, but watching as Seth ran to get him. I watched the worry flicker in Jake's eyes as he watched Seth run up. They got the point, even without words, that they were needed. I watched as Jake ran faster than I had ever seen him in human form. He knew.

_The scent is faded, but it is here Bella. You did not over react; this _is _new, _Sam confirmed, interrupting my focus. He ran toward my house, where the scent had led. They were following me.

_What happened? _Jake's worried voice echoed through my head. I watched as he ran in the direction of his house and listened to the rush of his panicked thoughts.

_Vampires,_ Paul said, sounding excited._ They were following Bella._

_What!_ Jake shouted as he reached me. He nuzzled his head against mine. I could sense the anger and sadness as I watched his thoughts run wild. It was odd being so close like that in wolf form, but I still could not pay attention. _I'm so sorry I wasn't watching Bella. I should have been there, but figured since _Paul_ was close to you, you would be fine._ He growled in Paul's direction.

_What? I didn't see or smell anything. It was all fine when I fell asleep. I was only out for maybe fifteen minutes, _Paul defended himself.

_Doesn't matter… I should have been watching you, _Jake said guiltily.

_It's ok Jake, I'm fine. How were you supposed to know, how was Paul? They snuck by. _ I tried to make Jake feel less guilty, but I couldn't. I was too worried that they were still close by. I laid down on the ground, worry causing my body to lose it's strength. Jake hovered over me, comforting me and it helped.

_They appear to be gone. Possibly they were just watching you. But why? _Sam thought.

_Why didn't that bloodsucker warn us? _Paul snapped. I had no response.

It took a while for the whole pack to search the area. Jake stayed close to me and I was grateful. I hated having him so far away, not knowing where he was when something was wrong. It was a horrible feeling.

_I'm so sorry Bella, _Jake whispered, moving his massive head against mine.

_It's ok Jake. It's ok now,_ I told him.

_I think I'm going to be sick, _Leah quietly said.

_Oh shut up, _Jake told her.

_Well the area seems to be clear now. We've gone out as far as we can go and there appears to be nothing. There scent cuts off and we lost track, but it was far enough away to stop searching for now,_ Sam told us.

_I should go see Alice, _I thought.

_Uh… Yeah, maybe you and Jake should go. _I could tell Sam didn't like the idea.

_Damnit, _I said as I thought about my clothes. Jake laughed a little.

_Come on. I'll grab you some from my house, _He said.

_Alright._

Jake and I took ran over to his house and I waited outside while he got me some clothes. Once he came back out, he had me stay phased so he could just tie them around my leg. After that, we were on our way over to the Cullen's once again. The run over was somewhat quiet, none of us had much to say, we just thought about it all silently. I was too focused on my own, worried, thoughts to pay attention to what Jake was thinking.

When we got to their house, Alice was waiting outside with Edward standing behind her. I closed my eyes and kept them closed as I phased, keeping on focus on the real issue. I did notice he looked a little better than the last time I saw him.

"Bella, what's going on?" I heard Alice ask as we walked out of the trees. She was eyeing my clothes.

"You tell me," I snapped.

"What are you talking about?" she seemed confused. Had she not see them?

"The vampires in the area that were following me. You didn't see them?" I said a bit calmer, but not fully believing.

"What? No," She said as she glanced at Edward, who looked just as confused as she did, but a little more worried.

"What happened?" Edward asked. I was getting tired of hearing that.

"Some damn leeches were following her today. Were outside her house when she woke up and followed her to the res," Jake said angrily.

"I haven't seen anything," Alice whispered. I could tell she was starting to focus.

"When?" Edward asked.

"About an hour ago," I told him.

We stood there in silence for a minute, waiting for Alice to see something. After a few minutes of nothing, I got uncomfortable and walked to sit on the porch.

"I can't see anything," She whispered. "None of the Volturi sent whoever it was, but I can't get anything else. I can only see Aro talking to Demetri about coming and looking for someone, but that is it. They look a little confused, and it appears the timing is changing a little. "

"They look worried," Edward added.

"About what? What's happening?" I asked, growing more annoyed with it all.

"Aro looks worried, Demetri looks confused, but that is all she can get. Keep trying Alice."

I wished I had known what was going on. Who was it that was following me and why were Volturi members acting that way. I rested my head against the railing and closed my eyes. Why couldn't they just come get me now? It was all just becoming too much.

When I opened my eyes, I could see Edward looking at me and Jake was looking at Edward. I could tell Jake was holding himself back and so could Edward he looked… amused? I sighed. Some things never changed, even if the worst things were happening.

"Well, guess we should be heading back now," I said. I just wanted to either go to Jake's house or mine and get some more sleep, as long as Jake was with me. "Alice, please let me know if you see anything," I asked as I hugged her goodbye.

"Of course Bella. I can't understand why I hadn't seen anything this time," she said.

"Goodbye Bella," Edward said as he touched my hand softly. I gave him a small smile in return.

As Jake and I got back into the trees, he stopped before he had phased and turned to look at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said with a smile as he turned around.

"Hey Jake,"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go back to your house? I want to lay down for a while."

"Sure," he said, walking over to kiss me lightly on the forehead.

***

"Bella, wake up," a male voice shouted in my ear while he shook me softly. "Bells."

"Hmm…"

"Wake up. It's six in the evening, why don't you come home." I recognized his voice.

"Dad?" I barely whispered.

"Yes Bells. Get up." He pulled back the blanket that was wrapped around me as he pulled me to a sitting position.

"Ok, ok I got it from here," I said with a yawn. I rubbed my eyes while I tried to figuring out what was going on.

I looked around the room and realized that it was Jake's. I remembered after going to see Edward and Alice I wanted to take a nap, so that must have been what I was doing. _But, where was Jake?_ I thought as I glanced behind me to see that he wasn't in bed.

"Where's Jake?" I asked.

"He came out earlier and he stayed out with Billy. I decided that if you really are that tired then you should get home. Are you feeling ok?" he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Yes, I feel ok. I just didn't sleep well last night." Well, that was sort of the truth. I didn't sleep well because I didn't sleep at all. I had to keep finding the right wording so my lies made me feel less guilty.

"Ok, well let's get home then. We can pick up something on the way so you don't have to cook."

And that made me feel guilty again. He was going out of his way to make me feel better, when there wasn't really anything wrong with me and that I was lying. I took a deep breath to calm myself from the anger that was building up again, it was the wrong time to be thinking about that.

"Ok. Sounds good," I said as I stood up.

I walked out of Jake's room to see Jake sitting at the kitchen table with Billy. He looked up at me and smiled, though it wasn't his bright smile that I loved so much, it seemed to grow dimmer with every day that passed.

Jake stood up next to me and I said goodbye to Billy as we walked out the front door. Charlie stayed behind for a minute to talk to Billy.

"Sorry. I tried to get him to let you sleep longer, but he insisted that you needed to get home," Jake said as reached for my hand. We stopped next to the driver's side door.

"It's ok. I probably should have gone home to sleep. I just didn't want to be alone," I told him, squeezing his hand tighter.

"I wouldn't have left you alone."

I smiled and tugged on his hand to pull him closer. I stood up on the tip of my toes to give him a kiss. Of course that still didn't make me tall enough, though I did seem to be a little taller than before, he had to dip his head a little. As soon as his lips met mine, giving me that same unbelievably warm floating feeling, I heard Charlie clear his throat. I pulled away as I giggled and gave him a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I told him.

"Of course." He kissed the top of forehead, as he always seemed to do.

I made myself let go of him and he opened the car door for me as I climb in, closing it behind me.

"See you Charlie," Jake said with a wave and he walked back up into the house.

"Bye Jake."

I started my truck and pulled away from the Black's house slowly, hoping nothing decided to jump out at me this time, but I was sure the pack was keeping a closer eye out tonight.

Once I had gotten home, Charlie wasn't right behind me so I assumed he had stopped to get something to eat. I sat in my truck a few minutes before I decided to get out. I was curious about how the night was going to turn out, but I didn't really want to think about it. All I wanted to do was go up to my room and go to sleep and wait till I could see Jake again, when I knew I would be safe. At home, I had not only myself to worry about, but also Charlie. My stomach turned and I felt nauseous at the thought of it.

When I finally had gotten enough courage to get out and go into the house, I had just stepped up to the door when I heard a noise over in the trees closest to my house. I started to panic, thinking the vampire could be back, but instead a huge brown wolf slightly stepped out, nodding once at me before he hid himself again. I wasn't sure who it was, but I was grateful. If not for my sake, then Charlie's; I knew nothing could get passed completely unnoticed.

I went into the house and went straight upstairs to the bathroom. I ran some cold water over my face hoping it would help keep me awake a little bit longer. I had no idea how Jake and the rest of the guys kept this up. Up all night and mostly all day, sometimes up for days at a time. I felt such a huge pressure pushing down on me and I knew that wasn't helping. Knowing what I knew and knowing what no normal person could know, it didn't make the weight any less.

I was brought back to focusing when I heard the front door shut and Charlie walking into the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't alone with my thoughts anymore. I wiped my face off with a towel and ran back downstairs. Charlie already had plates on the table with a box of pizza in the middle. When the scent of it reached my nose, my stomach growled and Charlie laughed.

"Guess pizza was a good choice huh."

"Yep," I said as I walked over to the table and sat down.

"Are you sure you're ok Bells? You've been looking a bit odd lately," he asked.

I was frozen for a moment. Had I really looked that bad? "Yeah, I'm fine. Like I said, didn't sleep much."

"Alright. Look, I know I'm not the easiest to talk to, but I am here if you want to give it a try." He smiled.

"Thanks Dad, but really, I'm fine." I smiled at him before grabbing a piece of pizza.

The rest of dinner was quiet. I didn't know if he was thinking of more to say, or if he was thinking about other things, but I didn't pay no attention. I was thinking about how good the pizza tasted and that I missed the normal times like that.

After dinner I went straight up to my room. I laid in bed for a while, for some reason unable to fall asleep. I went back to thinking about the thoughts I had had that morning about other things to do with my time. I couldn't focus on one thing long enough to be able to read. Listening to music somehow made life away from Forks seem too unrealistic. Like a life without monsters was only something you seen in movies, not the other way around.

It was at that moment that, for some weird reason, I thought of the dream I had a few nights before. The dreams were I watched the future, a future where Jake and I had a child. A future that once again, someone was trying to tear to pieces.

As I pictured it, I studied the faces of everyone around. I could see it all as clearly as I had the first time I imagined it. Everyone was happy, enjoying the little things life had to offer. Family and friends all happily joined, and all in danger of someone lurking in the forest. I focused again as I saw my dad's face when I first noticed the shadow and the scent. He knew.

As I saw that again, I wondered if there would ever be a time when I could tell him. If a day will come that he is allowed to know. I idly wondered if there would even be a future for us past the Volturi's arrival.

I felt myself slowly starting to drift to sleep as the images in my head clouded over, replaced by ones of the clearing in the fall. Everything was a vivid orange and brown, leaves blowing violently with the wind. I could feel myself shiver, not from the cold, but from fear. I watched as a small group of people dressed in dark hooded cloaks walked closer to me. I felt the tears build up in my eyes; I was alone. _Why was I alone?_

As they stopped in front of me, one took several steps closer, pushing back his hood. I recognized the face of the man standing in front of me and I felt the terror flow through me as I realized he was not a man at all. He was a vampire, Caius to be exact, and there was a sadistic smile pulling into form on his face, as he looked straight into my eyes.

A light tapping noise filtered through the moment and everything slowly faded away. I was seeing my bedroom walls again and I realized the noise was coming from my window. As the tapping had grown impatient, I quickly sat up in bed, but didn't move anymore, I was too afraid.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger, but I kinda had to do it. Lol. So what you guys think of this chapter? **

**Sorry the posting is off lately, but I've had a lot of things going on. I'm moving so time has been spent mostly on packing and now it looks like after this next weekend I may not have the internet for a while. Nothing is definite on that yet though.**

**Anyways, hope you guys like it! Please Review. =)**

**Also, voting was extended so you can still vote - ********http://wolfpackawards[dot]webs[dot]com/vote[dot]htm **


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I controlled my breathing and thought positive thoughts.

_It could be anything, really, _I told myself, but nothing worked.

After what seemed like hours, I slowly got out of bed and walked to the window. Before I had even gotten a chance to see what it was a familiar voice yelled my name, causing me to squeal a little.

"Bella! Open the window," Jake yelled, quietly as he could.

I didn't realize how tense I was until I felt my body relax and sighed with relief. I pushed up the window and stood back a little as Jake threw himself in. And old memory from what felt like years ago ran through my mind, reminding me of the first time he had done that to help me realize what he had become.

"We have to go," he said, interrupting my thoughts.

"What? Now? What happened?" I shook my head trying to understand what was going on, nothing seemed to fit due to my head still being hazy from the dream.

"Well Leah caught another scent. It was fresh and it was heading this way. " he paused for a moment, probably waiting for my reaction, but I didn't know how to react. First thought was to freak out, like normal, but a rush of adrenaline pumped through me and I was ready to end this damn thing.

"Ok, let's go," I said and I kicked off my shoes and started walking for my bedroom door.

"When are you ever going to just learn to jump out the window?" Jake laughed.

"Uh, not right now," I lightly laughed."Maybe someday."

Once I heard Jake leap out the window, I turned and walked the rest of the way to my door. My heart skidded to a stop when I opened it to Charlie standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"And what do you think you are doing?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"I'm uh... going to get some water," I lied, horribly.

"Yeah sure and why don't I believe that?" he asked, reaching out to push the door open the rest of the way. "Where'd he go?" _Uh oh._

"Who?"

"Jake, and don't you play dumb with me. I know I heard him in here," he argued.

"I, I…" _Think Bella, think!_

"What is going on Bella and I don't want to hear anymore lies." _Damnit._

I was out of options. I had no idea what to do. I could continue to lie, but how many lies would I use before it was really too many? I honestly couldn't take it anymore. I remembered my thoughts from the dream and I hoped that he could someday deal with this as I had imagined. Without a second thought, knowing serious things were going on and I needed to leave, I caved.

"Dad, you're right. Something is going on, something huge, but I can't tell you. I don't even think you would understand if I did. Can you just except that you're right, that something is going on and that I have been lying, even if just for right now. " Tears were forming in my eyes and I blinked them away. I was not ready for what was coming.

"Bella, what are you talking about? What happened?" He looked confused and I couldn't blame him.

"Something had happened to me. Well, something has changed. In some ways, I'm not the same anymore. Come here," I said as I pulled him downstairs with me. I made him sit down on the couch while I paced back and forth trying to sort it all through and explain it to him. Finally, I got an idea, it wasn't the greatest, but it was all I had.

"I could show you what I'm talking about, but you'll freak out. I have secrets that involve other people, as well as myself. In order to protect them, I can't tell you everything, but I can show you what _I_ am. I'm just not sure if I can tell you why yet and I'm not sure if you can handle it. It's too dangerous." I really hoped he wouldn't want me to show him and that he would just take my word for it. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he was deep in thought about something.

He took a deep breath. "Show me," he finally said.

I closed my eyes. "Are you sure? Dad, this is serious. You have to promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"What am I going to do Bells? You tell me you've changed, that you can't really explain, but you can show me. To tell you the truth I'm a little scared to know, but you're my daughter. I have the right to know what is going on with you and I will find a way to deal with whatever it is."

Once I opened my eyes, I could tell he was being honest. I couldn't believe what I was about to do and the tears started spilling again. Charlie stood up and started to say something, but I shook my head while raising my hand for him to stay where he was. He sat back down as I turned to walk towards the hallway where I would have more room.

I knew Jake was outside still and I was pretty sure he could hear everything that was going on. I was almost sure that if he disagreed with this, he would have been in here to stop me. I took that as a positive thing, but it was only one with so many negatives.

"Please don't be scared," I whispered one more time as I closed my eyes and phased.

All at once I heard a gasp come from Charlie and the front door flew open. Both Jake and Charlie stood there wide eyed, staring at me. I heard a rush of voices coming in my head from the pack, all wondering what I was doing.

_I had too,_ I said and Sam told the guys to be quiet.

"What the-," Charlie mumbled.

"Charlie, she's uh-," Jake tried to say, but was cut off by Charlie.

"You did this too her, didn't you?"

I couldn't understand how Charlie had gotten that idea, but I'm sure that Jake coming in at the same time didn't help it any.

"It's not what you think," Jake tried to explain.

I dropped my head down, looking at the floor. I didn't know what to do. There I was, standing in the middle of my hallway as a wolf while Charlie was in the living room with Jake, blaming him. I didn't plan that far ahead and I sure as hell wasn't planning on Jake being there.

Jake looked at me as I lifted my head. I pointed my head in the direction of the living room, hoping he would go in farther so I could phase back and he did. I heard him try to talk to Charlie some more, but I was too focused on phasing back to understand.

_I'll be right back,_ I told the pack.

_Hurry,_ Sam said.

I phased back and I could hear the talking quiet down after I had changed.

"Bella?" Charlie called.

"Stay right there," I yelled as I ran up stairs for new clothes. I was going to have to shopping by the end of the week if I kept that up and I shook my head at the thought.

Once I was fully clothed again, I went back down to try and talk to Charlie about what he had just seen. It wasn't going to be easy, but when I had gotten into the room, I could see he looked a little better.

"I explained most of it," Jake said.

"You didn't have to," I said, wondering what _most of it_ had meant.

"Yeah, I did."

"So that's what you are now? That's what all the secrets have been about, all that sneaking around and sneaking out? Yeah, I knew Bella. I just didn't say anything. That explains the eating and growing too?" he asked and I nodded. "Well then, I guess that sums up just about everything. My daughters a werewolf," he laughed, but I couldn't tell if he thought it was really funny, or if he thought he was going crazy.

"I will explain it more to you later Charlie, but right now we have to go… Uh, deal with something," Jake told him.

"Right, right. More of that stuff I don't want to know," Charlie said, nodding.

I just stood there staring at him, completely unsure about what to do. He glanced up at me, smiling as he stood up and walked over to give me a hug.

"I love you Bells, no matter what. But uh, that's enough for now ok. I don't need to know the how's or the why's, at least not right now. Just like I don't want to hear about what is you are doing that you said was dangerous. I hate that you have to do something that is dangerous and that I can't help you, but I guess there are just some things a Sheriff can't handle." He laughed again.

"You're taking this a lot better than I had thought," I said quietly, laughing with him.

I understood why he didn't want to know and I was glad I didn't have to explain it. I was also happy that I didn't end up giving him a heart attack and that he seems to except it. I _really _needed to start giving him more credit.

"We have to go," Jake said again.

"Just be sure to come home safe," he told me.

"I will," I said as I walked out the door.

Once we got out the door and took the first step into the woods, Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

"I had to Jake. He knew you were there, he knew everything and I couldn't lie to him again."

"You should have told me."

"I didn't even know I was going to until I saw him in my doorway. If I was planning it, you would have known. I'm sorry you're mad, but I had to do it Jake," I told him as a single tear slid down my cheek.

"Alright. I'm not mad," he said, catching the tear with his thumb. "We just have to be careful and well, hopefully now you won't have to sneak out anymore," he laughed.

"Yeah, hopefully," I agreed, rolling my eyes.

"Ok, let's go."

We walked in separate directions, a few feet to away from each other to phase. I still wasn't comfortable just doing it in front of anyone. As soon as I phase, I got a head full of pissed off voices yelling at me for what I had just done. Sam had to tell them all to shut up again while I explained it to them the same way I did to Jake. Sam understood and we moved on to the more important things.

_So, I assume Jake has told you what happened,_ Sam said.

_Part of it. A new scent closer to my house? Did you find whoever it was?_ I asked in a rush.

_No, they left again before we could catch them, or see them. _

_So whoever it is, is still out there?_

_Yes, for now. We will catch them Bella. Right now it appears to only be two, but we are expecting more. Only two doesn't seem right._

If it was the Volturi, no it wasn't right. They wouldn't only have two members come. Now I was confused and trying had to figure out who it could be. The only threat I had left was the Volturi. James was dead, Laurent was dead, Victoria and her newborns were dead. It could only be the Volturi. But why like this?

_We will find them, _Sam and Jake said at the same time with a tone that sounded so definite that it sent chills through my spine.

At that moment a crunching sound in the distance broke through and interrupted the conversation. We all whipped our bodies around to face the sound growling at the possible threat, but my body relaxed when I realized it was a scent I recognized.

_It's Edward, _I told them and the calmed a little, but still always tense in the presence of a vampire. I sighed.

_I'll go talk to him, _I said.

_No, I will, _Sam interrupted.

I was a bit surprised by it, but nodded and took a couple steps back to Jake and sat down. We all scattered out a bit, still searching for new scents, but I stayed closer to where Sam and Edward were so I could listen.

"So she has seen…. Wait, is Bella out there too?" he asked suddenly and I was shocked and confused.

"Yes, what does that matter?" Sam snapped.

"It's just that… Well… I can't hear anything," Edward said, sounding very confused.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked impatiently.

"I don't know."

I moved closer, hoping I could get close enough to see without being heard. Through a break in the branched, still a few feet away, I was able to see clearly.

"I can't hear your thoughts," Edward said quietly, shaking his head.

"And that's a bad thing how? Can we get to the point and not discuss your personal problems?" Sam's impatience was clearly showing as he folding his arms across his chest.

"It's not just a… I wonder… Bella? Can you hear me?" Edward asked a little bit louder.

I took a few steps closer to them and he turned his head towards me.

"Bella? Can you phase out?" he asked and I was completely confused.

_What is he doing? _Jake asked.

_I'm not sure. I'll find out. _ I said as I stepped backwards, back to where I was when I was still hidden. I phased back once I realized none of the pack members where close enough to see.

"What is it Edward?" I asked.

"_Wow,_" He whispered.

"What is going on?" Sam growled.

"Bella, can you… I…" For once Edward was at a loss for words. I had no idea what to do, or what to think. I just stood there far enough away from them, uncomfortably naked, waiting for him for finally say something.

"I can hear them all now," Edward said finally in a whisper.

"Ok? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"When you were with them, phased, I couldn't, but now that you are standing here I can." I still didn't get it.

"What does that mean?" I asked again.

"I think it means, you can block them, like you block me from inside your head. When you are with them, I cannot access their minds."

I stood there thinking about that for a minute. _Could I really be able to block the packs' thoughts from Edward? What if that meant…_

"Does that mean I can block them from others too? Like… the Volturi?

"It may," He answered, sounding deep in thought.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked.

While Sam was trying to sort things through, I did the same, but decided to put my clothes on first. After I was dressed, I walked forward a little so they could see me.

"She may be able to block you all from the Volturi's powers," Edward said as he looked toward me with a slight smile.

Sam didn't say anything and neither did I as I stared at my feet. Sam just stood there staring off into the trees.

_If I could block the Volturi, then maybe there was a good chance this could go well. Depending on who all is here._

I turned and looked at Edward who was looking at me with hope in his eyes. I took a step towards him and the sound of crunching branches from behind stopped me. I turned to see Jacob looking confused and slightly irritated. I could only assume it was because he had no idea what was going on.

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"I guess Bella may be able to block us from the Volturi too," Sam said.

"What? How did you get that idea?"

"From him," Sam said as he pointed a thumb at Edward.

"I can't read your minds when Bella is phased with you. My only thought on that is that she might be able to block the Volturi if she can block me. I admit it's a far shot, but it's something," Edward said as he turned to walk away.

"Well what about the Volturi?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Alice has seen them coming, but not the way we had thought. Caius is missing." Edward said and I couldn't read the emotion in his eyes.

I froze then a sudden shiver ran through my bones. Hearing that so soon after the dream I had had didn't sit well with me. I wondered if somehow my mind was telling me that the person I smelt in the trees was in fact Caius. My knees started to feel weak as Jake put an arm around me before I had the chance to fall.

"What is it Bells?"

"N-Nothing," I said as I shook my head and forced a smile. "I'm Fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"So is that all?" Sam asked Edward.

"Yes, that is all. For now."

"Alright. We'll be in contact then."

"Yes." Edward nodded and disappeared, but not before I saw him glance back at me. He didn't have the hope I saw before, but worry.

I looked up at Jake who was concentrating on something. I glanced over at Sam who had the same look on his face. I didn't have to be phased in to know they were already thinking of a plan to get everyone out of this in one piece. I started to do the same.

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**A/N: Thank You to the people to let me know that I had messed up the ending and left Bella standing with Sam, Edward, and Jacob naked. Lmao. So I fixed it. Let me know if it's better.**

**  
Also a reminder, I just moved and it's a whole new environment for me and I'm getting used to it. So, I will update as soon as I can, but I will be a lot slower than normal. Thanks for the reviews =)**


	24. Chapter 24

_I had reread this chapter about a week or so after I had posted it and it just wasn't right. It continued to bug me until I sat down and decided to rewrite it. If you have reviewed this chapter before you can't review again, but please send me a message letting me know what you think about the changes._

_As I have written in A/Ns before, I recently moved and being able to write has gotten very difficult. I sort of hit a wall in the story._

_So here is the rewrite and sorry again for the shortness._

_Thanks for reading!_

* * *

**Chapter 24**

We stood there in silence for a little longer as we continued to think. I couldn't come up with anything except just making sure I was doing my blocking thing, though I'm not really sure how it worked against others. Maybe I don't even have to try. I may have to test that out with Edward before it's too late. I still couldn't believe that my brain had the ability to do such a thing.

I don't know how anything still surprised me.

After I was deep in thought, I could feel Sam and Jacob's eyes on me. It wasn't until Jake said my name that I snapped out of it and focused on them again.

"Bells?" Jake whispered.

"What?" I said snapping my head in his direction.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm sure." I didn't know if it was a lie or not. I felt ok, but the weight of the news I had just gotten was quickly becoming heavier than I had thought.

"Alright. Let's get going. We still have to explain and discuss all of this with the rest of the pack," Sam said as he disappeared into the trees.

Jake and I slowly followed, he turned to me to give me a gentle, but eager hug.

"I love you Bells. I know everything will be ok," he whispered.

I just nodded as he released me and slightly smiled. He held my hand as I slowly walked away from him to phase again.

Once the pack heard what was going on and what I was able to do, they had a hard time believing it. Some of them didn't want to believe that the "_newcomer_" had the ability to protect them all, but Sam had an idea that maybe that was why I was changed in the first place. I had to agree with him; it really made more sense of it all..

I was completely exhausted by everything that had happened and couldn't concentrate on anything. Sam told me to go ahead and go home to sleep, but I knew that was the last thing I would be doing. I had to too much on my mind, but I gave in and decided home may be the best place for me to be.

_I'll go with you, _Jake said as I was about to phase out.

_Jake we need you to stay a bit longer,_ Sam said before I could say anything.

_Are you sure? I don't think she should be alone right now, _Jake argued.

_Yes, I'm sure. She has a lot going on right now and I also think it would be best for her to see Charlie alone too. We'll be close enough by her though, just in case._

Jake sighed.

_I'm fine Jake. I'm just going to walk home, clear my head and try to get some sleep. I'll come over when I wake, _I said._ Alright well let me know if anything else comes up, or happens._

_We will and someone will be outside your house just as normal,_ Sam said.

I nodded to Sam just before I phased out.

The cool air felt good, so I decided to walk home in human form instead of running as a wolf. Once I started walking, a quick reminder of Charlie popped into my head. I wasn't ready to deal with him yet and I didn't think he would be ready to see me yet either. Just finding out your daughter is a werewolf is a pretty big thing to take in. Considering he handled it pretty well, I thought maybe I should give him a little more time alone with it.

I didn't know where else to go, or what else to do, but a thought of Edward popped into my head and I decided to try and get more information about what it was I was supposed to do. I changed directions and once I was halfway there I suddenly heard the steps of someone following me. I stopped for a moment to listen better, but just as I did they came up fast behind me and I couldn't hold the squeal.

"Bells it's me," Jake said as he reached out to me.

"Oh. Sorry, you scared me."

"Don't apologize, I should have said something. What are you doing out here?" Jake asked curiously.

"Decided that maybe Charlie wouldn't be so ready to see me yet and I thought maybe I should see if the Cullens had any more information for me about this brain thing. Or the Volturi."

"I'm sure you will know when it's time, you've figure it out yourself so far," he said looking around like he was expecting something.

"You just don't want me to be with them alone still," I told him.

"Of course I don't Bells. You can't expect me to just suddenly trust them because they seem to be helping us. It's harder than you think and I think you maybe be starting to understand that." I nodded. "But, it's not that. I just get worried when you're alone. Especially not phased in with us, I can't tell if something is wrong or not, but I feel like something is."

"I'll be fine. Okay? Trust me," I said as I kissed him softly on the cheek, but just as I did my stomach knotted up. I ignored it.

"Ok ok. If it would make you feel better to talk to him about it, then I'm not going to stop you. I do trust you. Just promise me you will be careful. We can't take any chances right now and… I don't know what I would do if I lost you." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, slowly drifting down to my lips. I almost gave in right there, but I didn't.

"You are not going to lose me Jacob. I'm not going anywhere," I whispered and kissed him one more time on the lips before I pulled away. "I will go home soon," I promised as I walked away.

The motion felt slow and I felt an odd twinge of pain in my stomach as he faded in the distance. A moment later a cold breeze washed over me, startling me. It was truly odd, but I ignored it and continued walking.

I enjoyed walking long distances in my human form. It was a nice change from what had become the odd, but normal four-legged run to get around. I closed my eyes and just opened my ears to the welcomed silence.

Somehow, I had gotten too caught up in the walk to their house that I managed to wonder off in the wrong direction. I found myself standing in the middle of a meadow. Judging by the distance that I had walked and from where I was with Jake, I knew it had to be that one meadow that had once meant so much to me.

I stood there for a moment trying not to get lost in old memories and decided it was getting too late to continue to stand there. Once I figured out the right direction, I started walking again. I hoped I wouldn't lose too much time, but the closer I got, the more things seemed strange. I suddenly felt like I wasn't alone anymore.

I focused more closely on the silence and I realized it wasn't so silent anymore. I froze completely still waiting for a sound, but continued to hear nothing. I started to panic and my breathing got heavy, but before I let myself get too out of control I thought for a moment and felt a little crazy for not considering Jake.

"Can't take my word on it huh?" I laughed as I turned, waiting for Jake to pop out from either direction, but nothing happened.

"Jake? Jake is that you?" I yelled, but all I heard in return was the echo of my own voice.

"C'mon, don't play games." I was starting to get worried that it possibly wasn't Jake at all. The panic started to fill my voice the more I called out. "Jake? Someone? Anyone?" I got nothing in return.

I knew someone was there and I knew whoever it was, was getting closer. It was completely dark out. No moon and no stars, just pitch black. I knew when I was about to crash into something or when something was near me, but from what I could tell there was only the trees.

Once I had finally convinced myself that maybe I _was_ just being crazy, the sound of a branch cracked loudly behind me and I was afraid to turn around. A gust of wind blew and I caught the scent of the one thing I truly feared. I knew it had to be _him _or someone sent by him. They were the only vampire scents in the area that I wasn't familiar with. They would be the only ones that would be out in the middle of nowhere with me and not say a word.

My breathing stopped as chills ran through my spine. Just as I was about to take a step forward and try to run and phase, a freezing cold hand grabbed my shoulder. I jumped away from them only to slam right into something hard and just as cold.. In that moment I knew I was surrounded. I turned to my right and tried to make a circle, hoping to see anything, even if it was to confirm my fears, but just as I did, I was hit in the head with something hard causing me stagger back a little.

I shoved whatever was in front of me out of the way and tried to run as fast as I could away from whoever was behind me. I only got a few feet away, before one of the vampires quickly caught up with me slamming right into me and I flew into a tree, taking it down with me. I shoved back into them, once again tried to phase, but it was too late. I felt something sharp hit me in the back of the head once again, but this time everything quickly went dark. I heard a voice muffled by the fogginess, but just as quickly as it disappeared, I was out.

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_**A/N:** So what do you think? For those of you who read the chapter before the rewrite, is it better_

**_Also, _**I'm Nominated in the Silent Tear Awards for **Best Jacob and Bella**. To vote for me, go to this link = http://silent-tear-awards[dot]webs[dot]com/vote[dot]htm

Thanks again.

http://twitter[dot]com/RachxMichelle (Follow my twitter for updates on the story. Easier to let you know how the writing is going and when the updates with be.)


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I was standing out in the middle of the meadow. The sun was shining the brightest I've seen it since I was in Phoenix. The breeze blew my hair lightly across my face. I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin; smiling. In one quick moment, it all disappeared. The warmth turned into a violent wind. As my body shivered in alarm, I heard a familiar voice calling out my name in panic. My knees hit the ground and eyes flew open as I gasped for a breath to respond.

I wasn't in the meadow anymore. I blinked my eyes slowly to adjust to the darkness of the room. My head ached a little, but I could tell it wasn't much longer before it was healed. I barely remembered what had really happened, but the harder I thought about it, the more my head ached.

I was lying down on a cold brick floor. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't separate my hands. After a minute of struggling, I realized they were chained together and my legs were chained to the ground. My eyes had started to adjust to the darkness of the room and I realized there were no windows and only one door. My only assumption was that I was in a basement of some kind.

"Hello!" I shouted, hoping someone would answer.

I tried wiggling more, but it wouldn't work. I thought that maybe phasing would work or at least help get the chains off. My head was still a bit foggy and that must have been interfering with phasing. I wasn't able to. I had never heard of anything stopping a werewolf from phasing, but then again I still had a lot to learn. I couldn't focus enough on one thing long enough to figure anything out. I mostly just wanted to know where I was and why I was there.

I started to focus harder on phasing just like I had my second time, but at the same time the door opened. A short vampire with glossy black hair in a ponytail walked in. I was sitting in the corner farthest away from the door, the farthest I had gotten was up on my knees.

"Awake finally?" he asked with a laugh.

"What the hell is going on?" I growled at him.

"Aw, you are mad," he laughed again, sarcastically. "We'll have time for questions later. Right now someone would like very much to see you."

"I suppose you're not going to tell me who that is either?" I asked angrily.

"Be patient."

He walked up closer to me and quickly undid the chains. He grabbed me by the arm and jerked me upwards, making me a little dizzy, while pulling me out of the room. He stopped for a moment slamming the door behind us and quickly led me down a long hallway that was a little brighter than the room I had been in and a little colder.

Once we had finally reached the end, he opened a thick metal door and pushed me through slamming the door as he followed. We were in another hallway, but only walked halfway down before we reached another thick metal door. He knocked three times on it before he stood back a few inches.

"Wha-?" I started to ask another question, but the door flew open so fast it created a gust of air that just about knocked me over, interrupting me.

"Come in Bella," a deep voice called from in the room. Something deep inside me recognized the voice, sending tremors through my spine.

"I have been waiting for this," he said, with such enjoyment and that deep sadistic smile pulling into place. Just as it had in my dream.

"Caius," I said, with disgust.

"So, I see you are still not a vampire. Going back on promises now are we? Remember, I don't offer second chances." I didn't say anything. "Though, I admit, there is something very off about you since the last time I have seen you."

"Yes, I'd say there is." I wasn't quite ready to tell him about my other change just yet since he didn't seem to know.

"Care to tell me?" he asked calmly.

"No, not really," I said.

"Hmm, I see."

"Why didn't you inform Aro of your little trip?"

"Aro doesn't always have to know everything you know," he said with a smile.

"Sure, sure."

"Any other questions?"

"Why did you do it this way?"

"I knew the others would disagree with me and I grew tired of waiting. I gathered enough guards to help me and left while they were… distracted."

He added a little laugh once he was finished. I didn't want to know what he had meant by _distracted_.

"So you're here to kill me?"

"You broke the rules, you and those Cullens, but your punishment is enough for me. Though, I still haven't exactly decided how exactly I will be doing that."

The last time I had seen Caius I couldn't really picture him as the happy type, but now that he was thinking of my punishment, something torturous I'm sure, it wasn't a pretty sight.

I couldn't decide what to do. I ran over my options, nothing ended very well. The only option that seemed even close to working was phasing, but I wasn't sure about that yet.

"You are awfully quiet Bella," he said, causing me to lose tract of thought.

"What would you like me to do? Cry and beg for forgiveness or a second chance? Does that really seem like something I would be doing right now?" The words just jumped out of my mouth.

"Well your little boyfriend isn't able to protect you this time," he said adding to his smile. "None of them are. So, what _are you_ _going to do?_"

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, though I wasn't really sure I knew what I was going to say, the door on the other side of the room opened and two vampires came in. I could only place them as his guards, judging by their look. One of them was a lot taller, but the shortest one looked stronger. Both were slightly odd looking. I just froze, hoping they weren't coming in for me.

"Caius," the tallest one said as he slowly bowed his head.

"Please tell me you have some good news for me." Caius turned towards me. "Oh Bella, I forgot to tell you," he said with a smile. "I wasn't sure where you would have been before, so I had guards go to both your house and the Cullens. One way or another I was going to get to you." My breathing stopped and the room fell silent, all except the sound of my heartbeat that had sped up. Apparently, he had gotten the reaction he wanted; his smile grew wider. "You made it too easy though; walking out there all alone."

I just stood there, still frozen, staring at the floor. _Did he really not know about the wolves?_ I was confused. _Maybe they didn't know that the pack had been watching for them, but how could they not have seen them?_

"Uh, Caius," The tallest one tried to continue. "We had a bit of a problem."

The word problem didn't sit well with me. I knew what he had to have meant by problem and either way it involved someone I cared about. I snapped out of my frozen trance, my body shook a little and I focused on the vampire.

Caius looked irritated. He looked to the door I had come in and there was two more guards standing there. He nodded his head in my direction and the two started walking in my direction.

"No! I'm not going anywhere!" I shouted, while kicking at them once they had grabbed each of my arms. I managed to knock one of them off me and started kicking the other. The one I had kicked down got up, wrapped both his arms around my waist, and picked me up off the ground. I kicked the other vampire in the face, wiggling to get away from the other.

"Caius, I thought she was human," one of them said as he was struggling with me.

I was still in his hold, kicking and swinging my arms, trying anything to get him to put me down before I realized what he had said. I stopped for a moment and looked up at Caius who looked very confused. He glared at me.

"I'll just kill her now," he said as he stood up.

"No!" I yelled again as I started kicking and swinging again.

"Caius!" The tall vampire shouted impatiently. "There are wolves with the Cullens."

Caius was frozen. "Wolves?" he asked slowly turning his head in the vampire's direction, confused.

"Yes, wolves. They were huge. Biggest I have ever seen."

I froze again for a moment. _Why was the pack with the Cullens? _ I couldn't make sense of it at first, but I lost my thought once again when I noticed Caius's expression was quickly replaced with terror. If he wasn't already so pale, I'm sure he would have looked it. I wondered if he had a problem with werewolves.

"No…" he whispered, lost in thought for a moment. "S-Send more guards and get rid of them. I will join once I am finished with her. You may go now," he said then he looked back at me, same expression on his face.

"Don't! I thought you only wanted me?" I yelled as I pushed the guard that was holding me off.

"And you two may leave now as well," Caius said, still glaring as he walked towards me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, though it came as a sharp snarling sound.

"This changes things a little," he mumbled.

A million different thoughts and questions flashed through my mind again, but the only thing that I could really focus on was the vampires that were leaving. Before I thought otherwise I ran after them, hoping to make it out the door.

"Stop her!" Caius yelled, but I had already pushed them out of my way and I was out the door.

I could hear more yelling but I ignored it. I had to get back to Jake. I had to make sure they were all ok. I had no idea just how many guards Caius had brought with him, but I wasn't about to wait to find out.

I kept running and at first I had thought they chasing after me, either that or they went a different way, but as soon as I thought of it, one of the vampires flew right into me. I slammed into the wall, but was able to move quickly away from his fist. The other vampire was right behind me, lunging at me. I jumped back far enough that he didn't catch me. Both of them looked at me for a second while my back was against the wall. I could tell they were still trying to figure me out, but I didn't give them much time, a second was all I needed.

I pushed myself off the wall and phased in mid run, just in time to run right into Caius as he came from the other end of the hallway. I got back up and ran as fast as I could away from them. I could tell they weren't too far behind, but I didn't let anything slow me down.

I kept running and finally noticed a window that was lit dimly from the sunrise. I turned back quickly and jumped right through the glass. I was glad to find that it wasn't too far of a drop down. I ran toward the nearest trees. I didn't have any idea where I was, but I was sure I wasn't too far away Jake.

The vampires continued to run after me. I tried running in different directions to lose them, but they were faster than I had thought. After a while of running zig zags through the trees, things started to look more familiar and I couldn't tell if they were still behind me or not. I realized that with all the focus on what was going on, that I had kept the pack blocked out.

I stopped running for a minute and the vampires were nowhere close to me. I figured they had given up, didn't think I could have lost them that easily. I sat down to catch my breath as I opened my mind up.

_Still no trace of her anywhere, but there is even more scents of the bloodsuckers. They're everywhere._

_She has to be somewhere, she didn't just vanish into thin air._

_They have to have her. Why else would they be roaming around aimlessly? I'm not sure what they are doing, but if she isn't with them then they have to be looking for something else, or watching something._

The voices were faint hums beating through my head along with my heart. I couldn't quite tell who was who, but I could pick Jacob's thoughts out of them all.

_I told you something was going to happen, that's why I went after her. I don't know why she felt the need to walk alone, but I trusted her to be ok. I shouldn't have left her alone. _

_I should have listened to him, _I thought.

_What is that?_

_What?_

_I hear someone else out there. Bella?_

_I'm here, _I said breathlessly I started running in their direction, carefully making sure I didn't run into any other vampires.

_Bella! Where were you? Where are you? Are you ok? What happened? What's going on?_

All their questions rushed together in my head. I didn't know what to answer first.

_Start with are you ok? _Sam said.

_Yeah, I'm fine. Now._

_Now? What happened?_

_Caius. He had some guards that he brought with him hunt me down. They took me too this place, still not sure what it was, didn't take the time to find out. He planned to kill me, but with a distraction and luck, I got away. _

_How? What distraction?_ Jake asked.

_For some reason Caius is terrified of werewolves. When a guard member came in and told him you were out here, he panicked. He sent two vampires away and I ran out before them. I had to fight them off, but I was able to phase in time and jumped out a window. For some reason, I'm thinking the foggyness from the hit to the head, I couldn't phase. I couldn't focus. Once he found out about you guys he ordered more guards out to kill you. He was distracted and I was more focused. Luckily, he sent mostly all of his guards out, so I had a better chance._

Jake didn't like seeing the visions of it all in my head. He started growling and whimpered as he started running. I didn't know where he was running until I saw myself in his vision. I was closer to him than I had thought and started running towards him. Once we were together, he nuzzled his head against mine and I relaxed.

_I should have listened to you. I'm sorry, _I told him

At the same time, I noticed someone was at the Cullen house.

_Is anything else going on? _I asked and was immediately bombarded with so many different thoughts I couldn't pick out one. _A bit slower please?_ Jake looked away from me, but didn't say anything right away, no one did. I concentrated to see if I could pick someone out of their heads and gasped

_What happened to Edward?_

_They got him. Seems to be about the same time they got you,_ Jake answered.

Suddenly my memory flashed over the muffled voice I heard when I was hit in the head, then to that dream of me standing in the meadow, someone calling my name. The smile that widened when Caius said Edward wasn't able to help me this time. The words he said played in my head._ "One way or another I was going to get to you."_

_He planned it all along._

_

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_

**A/N:**_** It feels like it has been forever since I have actually written anything and updated. Except for the adjustments on the last chapter. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter. **_

_**Please Review and let me know what you think. I'm hoping I've gotten over some of this writers block.**_

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**One again: http://twitter[dot]com/RachxMichelle (Follow my twitter for updates on the story. Easier to let you know how the writing is going and when the updates with be.)**

**Again, I just wanted to thank all my readers for their reviews. They really help me when I get stuck. =)**

_For those of you who keep adding into the reviews about my grammar and spelling. I know my grammar is bad and my spelling sucks, but I'm working on it. It was something I've always kind of been bad at. I will be getting a beta soon. _


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I didn't know what to do, or what to even think, especially now that I have gotten away from him. What would he do to Edward? What might he have done already? I couldn't bear to think about any of it. Things between him and me may have changed, but I still couldn't stand to think about anything or anyone hurting him. I did not want to imagine him not existing anymore. Before the thought had officially sunk in, I was on my feet and running. I had to get to Alice.

_Where are you going?_ Jake asked.

_Alice. She has to know something, anything will do. They took him to get to me, I'm not going to let them hurt him._

_What if it's too late Bella. That will just put you back in danger, _Sam said.

_I have to make sure. I'm just going to see if Alice has seen anything. I'll decide what to do after I talk to her._

_Bella you can't just go running back in there. What if they do still have him? What if they have already hurt him? What are you going to do? Walk right into their trap?_

_I don't know yet, but Sam… What would you do if it were Leah? What if it was you they wanted and they took Leah instead?_

All of the thoughts of the pack had come to a stop. No one ever brought up his past with Leah. Well, except for Leah, but it was the only thing I had that could make him understand.

Just as I thought, he did. I got a glimpse of old memories of his with Leah and she was actually shocked that he still thought of those occasionally. She finally got her proof that he still cared. The proof that he hated that he hurt her the way he did. I seen a little bit of peace finally settle in Leah in that moment.

_Be careful Bella._ Sam said as I walked up to the Cullen's house and Jake groaned. He didn't want Sam to give in so easily.

_Damnit. Uh Jake, I need you. _I slightly laughed.

_What?_

_I don't have clothes._

_Oh, _he laughed._ Alright, I'm coming._

Once he reached where I was and phased out, I could see Alice walking outside. I wanted so badly to be able to talk to her myself.

"They have Edward don't they?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Alice said, looking away.

"Well what's going on?"

"I couldn't really tell until about a minute ago. Since Bella is there. It's still fuzzy though. That's what I realize now. I'm sorry I couldn't warn you, I didn't know. I don't know how they are able to keep this from me. It's like the damn newborns all over again."

I hadn't seen Alice that mad in a long time. I was irritated that I couldn't phase out and comfort her somehow, since it wasn't her fault, but instead I walked out and put my head on her hand.

"Bella? You got out? How?" She asked, shocked.

"That guy's lack of guards wherever he took her allowed her to escape easier. Plus, I guess he's afraid of werewolves. Once he heard about us, he freaked out." Jake said proudly.

"Of course. They don't honor truces with werewolves. There was something that Carlisle said once about Caius almost being killed by one a long time ago. Don't know much more than that though."

That got me wondering why I hadn't seen anyone except for Alice and Edward those last couple of days.

"So what all do you know; anything that could help us out? By the way, where's the rest of your uh, family?" _Hmm.., Guess we were on the same page about more than one thing._

"Carlisle is trying to find a way to get a hold of Aro and find out why this is happening this way. Esme, of course, went with him. Emmet and Rose went out to see what else they could do. Jasper is in the house on the phone with Carlisle right now. A lot of good this ability is if I just keep seeing blank spots, or nothing at all."

"Wouldn't that be because the wolves are around?" Jake asked.

"I thought so, but even with Bella in the building with Caius, I could still see a little bit. I think it's because I was so close to her before. Even when she is phased in with you guys, I can see things a little more clearly than I could if you guys were alone out there. Make sense?"

"Uh, a little." He laughed. "Ok well, we'll be back. Let us know if you know anymore. We'll do what we can."

"I will." She paused for a moment, looking down. "The worst part is, I don't even know if he is ok or not. I just know he is there." The look on her face took all the thoughts out of my head.

She patted me on the head before she turned to walk back into the house and I just stood there staring at a window. Jake walked back into the trees and phased in.

_You ok? _he asked.

_Not really, no. This wasn't supposed to happen this way. They were just supposed to come after me. They were supposed to see that no, I wasn't a vampire, but that I wasn't a human either. I had my own new secrets to keep from humans. I thought that would matter, possibly change their mind. Guess I was wrong. _I still just sat their staring.

_We'll find him Bells and we'll get that damn bloodsucker too._ Jake said as he rested his head on mine.

I was surprised that he actually wanted to help find Edward.

_Well you shouldn't be, _he said, responding to my thought. _It's hurting you, and I don't want you to hurt over this. It's not your fault. I know you care about him, I know you always will and wel,l I'm ok with that. Let's just say I had some time to think about the more important things and I know what that is now._

I didn't know what to say, didn't have time to think about it before Embry interrupted.

_Ok now that the gushy love crap is over with, can we go kill some leeches now?_

The rest of the pack started going crazy with thoughts on what they would do when they finally got a hold of the vampires. To be honest, I couldn't wait either.

***

A few hours had passed, but nothing new had happened. Jacob went over to my house to sneak upstairs and grab me some clothes. Good thing it was still early enough in the morning that Charlie was still asleep. Wasn't ready to deal with him yet.

I couldn't tell exactly what we were waiting for, but no one had gotten any ideas and just sitting around was starting to drive me crazy. I had learned enough from the earlier experience that walking around alone to clear my head wasn't the brightest idea right now, so instead Jake and I went to Sam and Emily's to get something to eat. Emily was at least glad for the company. I don't know how she could stand being alone like that all the time.

Jake had fallen asleep on the couch and we still had about thirty minutes before we had to go back so someone else in the pack to take a break. I didn't want to sleep and I ended up helping Emily clean up a little.

"You know, it's not too late to still think positively you know," Emily said after as I was putting a plate away.

"I know, but I can't help it."

"What were you supposed to do? Search for him? You didn't know."

"I can't help but feel a little guilty over it Em. They couldn't find me, so they took him knowing I would find out soon enough. Only flaw in his little plan is that I'm not with Edward anymore, but that doesn't mean I won't try my hardest to get to him, because I will." Emily put her hand on my shoulder, and I looked down.

Since the situation in Phoenix I've wanted to be something more than just human, so I could defend myself and the people I cared about. Fight along with them, not behind them, hidden. It may not have happened the way I thought it would have, but I was happy. But even after that, I still couldn't help but feel so weak. I had no idea where Edward was, or if he was even ok. I felt even more weak and powerless than I had when I was just a normal girl.

"Hey girls," Jared said as he and Paul walked through the door. "Guess your times up. Where's Jake?"

I didn't even realize the time had passed so quickly, but I was ready to get out there.

"Still asleep, I'll get him," I said as I walked over to the couch.

"No no. I'll wake him up," Paul said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Wake up Jakie," he said as he lifted up the couch and dumped Jake on the floor. Jake was not going to be happy about that.

"What the hell. Damnit Paul," Jake said as he threw a punch towards at him. Jared was laughing loudly from behind me. I glance at Emily and she was just shaking her head.

"Ok boys, don't break my furniture," she said as she started fixing more to eat for Paul and Jared.

"Alright, let's go Jake," I said, interrupting their fight.

"I'll get you back for that asshole," Jake said. He wrapped an around my waste and we walked out the door, laughing.

I was glad they still found things to joke and laugh about during times like that. It helped, can't really explain why it did, but it helped keep my head clear and not go completely crazy.

Once we were phased, we got an update. There was no new scents, which to me, was bad. It meant they were all grouped up inside, planning what to do next or worse, with Edward. It made me feel like we had even less time.

_So no ideas on how to solve this yet, nothing from Alice or any of them? This is getting… _

_Bella calm down, we'll get him. I promise._

I wanted to believe him, but for some reason I couldn't. It's been too long already.

I walked away from Jake a little. I was getting tired of just sitting and doing nothing, so I started looking around. I walked a little farther than planned and Jake just followed so he was close enough to me.

After about 2 minutes of walking I caught a scent of something. I noticed it was from one of the guards that was in the room with me and Caius. Possibly even the one of the ones that had attacked me. Once I looked up, I noticed I was almost to the meadow.

I kept following the scent and as I got closer to the meadow, I picked up Edwards scent. _He was there._ I followed it and it seemed to lead me for miles. I started running in the direction it was leading me.

_Bella, hold on. _

_No, I've got to follow this._

_Bella, what if he was with there, but not for the reason you think, _Jared said as he was phasing back in.

I skidded to a stop. _What are you saying?_

_Well I was thinking about it and well, what if he was helping them find you? Coming to us to give us the details, while at the same time leading them to you. It's just a thought._

_I didn't think of it that way before, good point, _Sam said.

_You've got to be kidding me. Why would Edward do that? Why would he help the ones he hates kill me?_

_Revenge? You left him. Not only did you just leave him, but you left him for a wolf. I would assume to a vampire that has to be pretty bad._

_That's just… That's not even… He wouldn't do that. Edward would never help them, especially not to kill me._

I couldn't believe what they were actually saying. I didn't even have to think about that to know that that couldn't be what Edward was doing. Edward would never hurt me, at least never on purpose… _Would he?_

I couldn't think about it anymore. I continued to run down that scent faster than before.

_Bella, please wait. _

_No. I have to get to him._

_Bella, not alone, _Sam ordered, but that was the last thing I heard.

I couldn't handle hearing them anymore. I needed to know that he was ok. I needed to know that he had no part in that whatsoever. I couldn't believe I let them put that thought in my head. I had to block them out.

I had no idea exactly where I was running to, but his scent was getting a little stronger, I knew I was almost there.

After a little while longer, I started to catch many more scents. The smells of all the different vampires was becoming almost too painful. I could barely even stay on Edwards, but I did. After I go to the final hill and went over it, I could see it. It was an old abandoned factory. _Of Course._

I ran closer to the building and wasn't sure whether I could go in human or try to fight them off as a wolf. _Way to think ahead Bella._ I suddenly wasn't so sure coming alone wasn't a good idea, _but_ it was too late.

The wind blew harder and I knew I wasn't going to be alone for much longer. I ran towards the back, away from the vampire that was coming. I stopped to listen and there was no one back there. I ran farther back, into some trees that were there and phased out. Sneaking in would be easier as a human, I just have to remember to focus so I can phase on time.

Once I was dressed, I ran to where I spotted a door. It wasn't locked, but then again why would they need it to be locked? They _are_ vampires. I'd be more scared for the person trying to break in.

After I was inside, there was a long dark, empty hallway. There was no scent of Edward at that entrance, but at least I knew he was in there, somewhere. I kept walking, stopping every so many feet to listen for anything.

When I had finally reached the first door, I listened to anything that might have been in it and was lucky I did.

"Find anything out yet?" Caius asked.

"No sir. She's back with them and they are circling the area. Guarding I assume. What do you want us to do?"

"Once the guards are ready, we'll get rid of them."

"What about the Cullen?"

"Don't care."

I didn't know what to think about that, but I knew, somehow, that he was ok. At least for now.

I could hear the footsteps of one of the vampires heading for the door. I didn't want them to get to close otherwise they may know I was there. Wasn't sure what I was doing, but that wouldn't work out to well either way. I turned back and ran back out the door.

Once outside, I noticed the sun starting to set and thought about Charlie. I remembered the promise I made him. I couldn't get Edward alone.

I started walking back toward the trees when the wind blew another scent my way and that time it was the familiar one I was looking for. I decided to follow it and it led me to another door, but on the other side of the building. I listened to the other side of door before I tried opening it and it was quiet. I twisted the doorknob slowly and pulled.

The room was dark with a horrible damp smell. I looked around, but it was empty. I walked across the room until I reached another door and opened it. The space was small, but had two more doors on each side. I didn't know which one to chose. I turned to my left, listening and heard nothing, but then Edwards scent was clear and a bit more recent. I knew that's where he had to be.

I pulled open the door and there was a staircase. Before I could even think about going down, I heard footsteps. Listening closer, I noticed they were coming from the room of the door I didn't open. I pushed the staircase door shut quietly and decided to get out of there. When the vampires had gotten closer, I heard them talking about something. Edward. I didn't have much time.

As soon as I turned to run back to the last door, I noticed they had stopped talking. I was too close. I ran to the door and ran outside, not wasting any time. I didn't look to see if they followed or not. After I had gotten about a mile away, I decided that it was time to let the pack know.

I walked a little more into a clutter of trees and took my clothes off to phase in. Right as I was about to release the block, something snuck up behind me, snarling.

"Decided to come back huh?" a male vampire asked angrily. It sounded like the tallest one that was in the room with Caius.

I turned to look at him, growling in response. He stared at me for a moment with narrowed eyes. I had no idea what he was doing, but whatever it was he was completely focused on it. I took one step to my right and he snapped out of his trance, looking somewhat angrier than he had been before.

"So it's true," he said very angrily. Then it hit me; he had some sort of ability and it didn't work on me.

I took another step to my right, never taking my eyes off him and that's when he lunged. I didn't have much experience in fighting, except what I had to deal with that day, but I pull all that I had into him. I leapt up, colliding with him in mid air, slamming back down on the ground on top of him. He tried to get an arm around me, but I jumped back. The preparations for the newborns popped into my head then and I remembered the fighting.

He jumped at me again, but I dodged him. At some point I had unblocked my mind and I heard a rush of the pack's voices. I stopped for a moment, shaking my head and he pounced on top of me. I threw my head back, knocking him directly in the jaw. It only stunned him for a second, but that helped. I was able to get out of his reach and back to circling with him. I don't know if he was brave or stupid, but for the third time he jumped at me, I swung my head at him just as he got to me. His back slammed into the tree that was about four feet away, knocking it over.

I could hear the scrambled thoughts of the pack trying to figure out what was going on.

_Where is she? _

_She's fighting a vampire._

_What the hell?_

_Someone get to her now!_

I didn't let them distract me again. This time while the vampire was getting back up, I pounced on him, biting his arm. I ripped it right off. It was a disgusting sound. I was stunned, yet proud at the same time.

_Whoa,_ I heard several of the guys say.

Tearing his arm off wasn't enough to stop him though. He sprang up over me; apparently, I just pissed him off even more. He ran at me, swinging his good arm at me, knocking me a few feet away; my head slammed into a rock.

_Bella!_

I tried to get up, but that fall had hurt pretty badly. As Much as I hated too, I didn't move. It only took a second for the ache to stop. I flipped over on to my stomach, looking up at the vampire.

_Almost there!_

We both stood there staring for a moment, but I had had enough. I put every bit of my anger into it and I sprang up, jaw opened wide, aiming for his neck. I had no idea what exactly I was doing, but I just went with instincts I didn't know I had until right then. He didn't move, he didn't flinch or run and maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but I had him. I sunk my teeth right into his neck, jerking my head from side to side, listening to the sound of his skin ripping and shredding. One last jerk and I managed to take his head completely off, flinging it down a hill.

_Wow, _I thought. Suddenly something was telling me that was too easy. Sure enough, before I had even stepped off the vampire's body, I looked up towards the building to see at least three vampires coming my way. I froze.

_Oh shit._

_

* * *

_A/N_: Sorry about the cliffie, but I hope you guys liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Reviews are GREAT. They help motivate me to write the next chapter. =)  
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Silent Tear Awards end in a couple days, so make sure you get your votes in! ******http://silent-tear-awards[dot]webs[dot]com/vote[dot]htm **_ clickable link on profile_


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

I knew I was about to die. I could feel it creeping up on me as the vampires grew closer. I closed my eyes tightly and braced myself for the impact, but what I heard instead, was not what I was expecting.

I must have blocked the pack out again, because I hadn't known they were that close to me. They stepped out in front of me just in time and were instantly busy with fighting off the guards. I tried to snap out of my frozen state and Sam's voice broke through and helped me.

_Alice is waiting for you. Go with her to find Edward,_ he told me.

I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to go find Edward and I wanted to make sure he got out of there safely, but everything inside me was telling me that I needed to stay here and help the pack. It was telling me that I couldn't leave Jake here.

_Bella, go. I'll be fine, we'll all be fine. Help her find him, _he said. Just as he was saying it, Alice called my name.

_You're sure? _I asked.

_Yes._

I was still hesitant, but I threw myself forward and ran with Alice back to the factory.

Getting inside was no problem. It seemed as though mostly all the guards were out over the hill with the pack. That didn't help settle my nerves any.

We made it all the way down the stairs and just picked up a stronger scent of Edward when we were suddenly stopped.

Caius was standing in the middle of the room, blocking the door where I knew Edward was held.

"Abilities are powerless to the wolves as long as you're joined with them," Caius said as he walked slowly towards us. "That is easy enough to fix."

"Run Bella," Alice told me, but I couldn't. I couldn't get my legs to move.

I crouched down, ready to attack him. I couldn't believe the sudden strong urge I had to destroy him. I growled as I crept, just as slowly as he had, towards him. It was an icy cold hand on my back that stopped me.

"Bella, please don't do this. Please don't give into the violent urge within you. It's not who you are," Carlisle whispered.

Caius laughed somewhat hysterically and I snarled at him.

I tried to steady my focus. I needed to be careful and not block the pack out. I knew if I did that, they would die. Just as Caius wanted. But I also tried not to focus on what they were doing.

Instead, I looked at Alice and nodded my head. With the three of us, there should be no problem getting Edward out. The only problem I found was, I couldn't do it alone and I didn't want to leave Carlisle alone with Caius.

I shifted several times with confusion and irritation. I just happened to look up at Alice when she nodded back at me and I took off running.

I plowed right through the door, which led to another room. I instantly wondered just what kind of factory it had been, but then I was distracted. Edwards scent was very strong.

"Bella?" he called out and I ran in the direction of his voice.

"Bella, you're alone?" he asked.

I shook my head as I got closer to him.

"I thought they killed you. Alice couldn't-," he whispered before stopping completely.

I whimpered when it suddenly made sense why he was still there. He could have gotten out if he wanted to , I was sure of it, but he stayed because he thought I was dead. Once again giving himself over to the Volturi because of me. I was suddenly very angry at him, but that would have to wait.

His eyes were dark and he was sitting on the floor staring at nothing. The only light in the room was what had come from behind me. I was nudging him to get up, when I heard the sudden footsteps running up behind us.

Once he stood, I jerked around to face the oncoming guards. I crouched down, ready to lunge, growling at them. They walked slowly towards us.

"_Be careful,"_ Edward whispered to me.

The guards returned with their own menacing growls and one lunged at me. I met him in mid air, the sound of our collision vibrated of the walls in the dark room. He snarled as he tried to grab my neck with his hands. I was just barely faster than him, and as he reached in one more time, I slammed my head into his. He went back a few feet and I pounced on him, biting him wherever my teeth would land. He groaned in pain as I heard the tearing of his shoulder and I jumped backwards off him. My head was swarming with all the different thoughts of the pack as they were going through the same thing.

While I had a second, I glanced to see if Edward was ok, but he was fighting with the other vampire. I didn't get a chance to see how that was going, because one second was too long and the vampire was on top of me. I wiggled and jumped, trying to knock him loose, but he would let go. I ran with him still on me, to the nearest wall, slamming my side into it over and over until he lost his grip and I shook him off.

The growling started again as I stood in front of him, circling each other; I realized in that moment we were alone in the room. I stopped circling and stared at him. Studying his movements, I knew he was going to jump on me again the first chance he got. I looked up and noticed a huge empty book shelve to my right and I knew it had to be decently heavy. I ran sideways, slamming myself into and backed up. It may not have been heavy enough to stop him, but it distracted him. Just as I hoped, it fell forward, landing on the vampire before he knew which move to make.

His already wounded arm was sticking out and I moved quickly before he had a chance to knock the shelf off. I bit down on his arm as hard as I could, ripping it away and tossing it to the other side of the room. The book shelve was lifted and he stood there reaching out the good arm.

I hadn't fully planned that all through enough because once I backed up, I realized that in knocking the shelf over, I put myself into a corner. I tried to jump away, but he moved quicker than I had time to think. He had his hand at my throat and slammed my head repeatedly into the wall. I didn't know what his point was, but it sure hurt a whole hell of a lot. I leapt towards him, trying to break his grip, but I didn't have any room. All I did was help him in slamming my head once more.

My head was foggy and throbbing. The voices of the pack were fading. One voice caught me off guard as he shouted my name, at the same time the hand at my throat disappeared.

"Bella! Focus! Don't let him win!" Edward yelled. "Focus on the pack."

It took a minute to register, but luckily I hadn't lost them yet; though it was close. I shook my head while standing up. Edward was now fighting the armless vampire and he wasn't alone. Emmett was there too.

"Go back to the pack, they need you more," Emmett said. "Carlisle and Alice are with Caius. Aro is on his way. The rest are scattered fighting off the guards."

I nodded once and took off running out the door, but before I heard the vampire's last shriek. I ran all the way to the stairs noticing that Caius and Carlisle weren't where they were before. Before I could get further into thought on that subject, I heard the whimper of a wolf that echoed through the thoughts of the pack and echoed through my entire body.

I couldn't see through anyone else's eyes what was going on, I could only see red. I ran faster than I could have imagined. I knew who it was. I felt who it was. I just couldn't get to him fast enough.

I hated this. All of this. I didn't even know where to start on the list of hate for everything that had happened. Because of me, everyone was in danger. Because of me, the entire pack and the Cullen's were fighting about a quarter of the Volturi guard and I had no idea if they all would survive.

I made it away from the building and pushed myself farther until he was in sight. He wasn't moving. I focused on calming myself so I could make out the words that the voices were speaking. He was alive, barely, but unconscious. I slowed myself next to him; still panicking.

_Oh my god. Jake! Wake up! Wake! Up! _I shouted to him, but he didn't move.

I nudged him with my nose. He flinched very little, but as long as I got a reaction, I was a little better.

_What happened? _I asked Sam as he was running over.

_He uh, he lost focus and was crushed. I can't tell what kind of damage is done, but he's alive._

_He lost focus? How?_ I asked, afraid of the answer.

_He thought the vampire had you. Your thoughts were fading and well…_ He didn't finish. He didn't have to finish. God, I was screwing everything up.

I collapsed on the ground next to him, but then I quickly remembered what else was going on as Sam ran back to help someone.

I jumped back up, but couldn't move. I didn't want to leave Jake, but I didn't want to not help either. I was torn.

_Stay with him Bella. If he's alone, he's an easy target._ I shuttered.

I sat back down, but watched carefully. It seemed that they were just finishing up and everything was under control. I really have always underestimated the werewolves.

Something crunched behind me and I turned quickly, snarling.

"Wow there killer," Emmett laughed.

I shook my head, but turned back around, looking at Jake. He still wasn't moving.

"Damn, is he ok?" he asked.

I did the best I could at shrugging, the best that a wolf could do anyways.

"Edward should be on his way. Looks like the wolves did better than I thought. Too bad I couldn't have gotten a better piece of action. Which by the way, you did pretty good back there." He laughed lightly. I didn't respond. "Hey uh, maybe we can carry him somewhere until Carlisle can look at him. I mean, sitting out here like that isn't the best way to stay alive."

I shook my head again.

"Bella, nothing will happen to him. Besides, he has pretty shitty luck on his own anyways. He got crushed during the newborn attack too." He wasn't trying to make a joke, but it still stung. Both times were because of me.

I had no idea what was supposed to happen. I vaguely remembered Emmett saying Aro was on his way and I had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. After all, he was in on the decision to either kill me or change me and even though he apparently didn't support Caius' choice in the attack, it didn't mean he would side with me either. I just wanted it all to be over with already.

Emmett had walked away and was starting a fire to burn the parts of vampire that covered the forest ground. I stood there watching as he and the pack cleaned up the mess. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward enter the area. I didn't move. He walked over towards Emmett as he pointed at me. I looked down again. I was glad I couldn't talk to him.

"I'm so glad you're ok," he said, running over to me, but stopping shortly, looking down at Jake.

A tear fell from my eye. He didn't speak and I didn't look at him.

"This is all my fault," he whispered and that got my attention. I looked up at him confused and he continued. "If I never went to the Volturi in the first place, this never would have happened. None of this would have."

I never thought of it that way, and he was right. He sat down on the ground; he looked deep in thought.

"And when I say none of this, I mean I wouldn't have lost you and this definitely wouldn't be happening," he added quietly.

I stared at him as my body tensed. Jake was lying almost dead on the ground and he turned it around to be about him. _What the hell is his problem._

_What is he talking about? _ I heard the pack voices echo in unison, but I ignored them.

"If I wouldn't have left you after your birthday, we would have caught Victoria. We wouldn't of ever gone to Italy. You wouldn't have had to spend your time with wolves. There wouldn't have been the newborn fight. You and him wouldn't have imprinted on each other. There would be no danger to make you turn into one of _them_. I should have just changed you when you asked me too. I should have listened to you and now, now everything has changed. It's all gone to hell. The very place I was worried…"

I didn't let him finish. I didn't even think. I couldn't handle what he was saying. Not only was he turning it around on himself, he was making it look like what I had become was a bad thing. Sure I may not have chosen it on my own, not really anyways. Not that there was a way I could have, but I was happy. I was happy and once again he was trying to turn it around, blinding himself from the truth. Just like he had done after my birthday. He destroyed me then, but he wasn't going to get the chance this time.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was standing up, facing him, and growling about three inches from his face. He didn't even flinch.

_What the hell is going on? _I heard Leah ask.

_Oh, I've got to see this, _Paul said excitedly.

_Bella. You need to stay calm. _With Sam's order, everyone was quiet.

I tried to calm myself. I backed away, but not removing my eyes from him. Emmett walked over and pulled Edward off the ground. Edward didn't fight it, didn't even look up at me. And right then, in the pit of my stomach, I understood him again. He got the reaction he wanted out of me. He wanted me to get mad at him. He wanted me to lose control. _Why was he doing all of this to me?_

Emmett looked up at me. "I'll be right back to help with him," he said, pointing at Jake. I didn't take my eyes off Edward.

I was only pulled out of my haze of anger, anger I never thought I would feel towards Edward, when I felt Jake in my head.

I jerked my head in his direction and he was trying to get up. He was barely even conscious yet.

_Jake wait, don't move. _ I told him, crouching down by him.

_Bella? Are you ok?_ he asked.

_Yes, I'm fine. Are you? You look pretty badly hurt._

_It's not so bad,_ he said with a light laugh. And I knew he would be ok, though a confirmation from a doctor would help too.

According to Emmett all that was left was Caius. The rest of the Cullen's went back to the factory to wait for the Volturi. Alice saw that it wouldn't be long.

Caius was pretty confident that Aro would back him up in his decision, so he wasn't trying to run or anything. I still couldn't be sure. There was one this I was sure of; Aro wouldn't be too pleased with losing so many of his guard members. I doubt I could benefit from that at all though.

After some discussion and arguments, we decided to take Jake back to the factory too. It would be a while before Carlisle could get away, but with him healing so fast, I wanted to be sure there was no permanent damage. After a couple of minutes, Sam and Jake finally agreed.

It only took a minute, since that was all we had. Carlisle was sure that even without x-rays, Jake would heal just fine with some rest. He told Emmett that since he had his jeep and was going to give us a ride back to the rez, then he should run to the house to get some pain medication for him. Emmett agreed.

Most of the pack returned with us and few stayed behind to make sure things went ok.

Once we got to Jake's house, I was glad Billy was out fishing with Charlie and not at home. I would have hated to see their expression when we all walked up.

I didn't realize how sore I was until after Sam took Jake inside to rest. I sat outside relaxing while I waited for Emmett to come back with the medicine.

Every muscle in my body ached, my ribs ached and when I lifted up my shirt a little to see my stomach, there was some light bruising. It had already almost healed, but I felt horrible. I rested my head against the wall with my eyes closed and thought a little about everything that had happened. One thing that stuck in my mind was Emmett.

I wasn't sure why Emmett was helping us, and though I was grateful, I couldn't help but ask. After Jake got his meds, Emmett sat next to me on the porch. He didn't even have to think about his answer.

"Bella, you've always been like my little sister. That hasn't changed, even now that everything else has. Even after this wolfy stuff, you were still there to help our family. Even though it's because of us that this has happened."

I tried to say something, but he held his hand up for me to stop.

"Edward didn't ask before he brought you home to us and we're glad he did. And I mean it, we all are. It's his other actions that have caused this and because we're a family, that makes it all of us.

"We could have put our foot down and said no, but we didn't. We let him believe it was the right thing to do and this is what it has led to. Right now, you can't blame him for his actions, not really anyways. I know you had no choice, but he's heartbroken and even after all he's done to you before, you still risked your life to save his, again. One day he'll be ok, so don't worry about him. We won't let him do anything stupid again," he laughed.

"So, no matter what, you are still a part of our family. You're just a less fragile version of the same human Bella." We both laughed. "And, I guess that means the dog's part of the family too huh." He smiled.

I jumped up and hugged him. I couldn't help it.

"I wanted to talk to you about this before, but there was never really a chance too. So, that's your answer. Just don't expect e to get all mushy like that again," he said, still laughing and he squeezed me tighter than he normally would have.

"Oh," he said, pulling away, bringing the back of his hand to his nose. "That smell is just going to take a while to get used to." We both laughed again.

A moment later we were interrupted by Sam coming outside to tell me that Jake was awake and wanted to see me.

I said goodbye to Emmett as I walked back inside. He needed to get back over to the factory before the rest of the Volturi had gotten there and I was sure they would need him. He also told me that they would let me know when it was my turn for the questioning.

I wasn't entirely ready for it, but the sooner it was all over the better. I couldn't take the waiting anymore, but for right now I was content with knowing that Jake and I, and well everyone else for that matter, was ok. I smiled and let out a sigh as I walked into Jake's bedroom.

He was sitting up, leaning against some pillows that were against the wall with his eyes closed. The first thing I did was walk over and wrap my arms gently around him. I knew that no matter what would happen, as long as he was by my side, I could handle anything.

* * *

**A/N:** _How was it? I'm not very good at writing action scenes if you haven't noticed. I tried though. So please let me know what you think of it._

_In case some of you were wondering, this is almost coming to an end. Not quite sure how many chapters left, but it's not many. If there is something you would like to see come into the story before the end, please feel free to share. Anything from something I hadn't gone into enough in the past chapter, or even a chapter in a different POV. I know how I want it to end, but sometimes a little extra help can make it go a lot better. _

_Remember, reviews help motivate me to write faster and right now I could use all the motivation I can get. _

_Hope you enjoyed it! =)_

_Twitter:_ http://twitter[dot]com/RachxMichelle

**The Indie TwiFic Awards are back, so head on over and nominate your favorite unrecognized Fics. http://www[.]theindietwificawards[.]com/nominations[.]aspx**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The time I had with Jake was cut short as usual. We were just relaxing enough that we started to dose off when we heard yelling coming from outside. Since Jake was still in a lot of pain, I told him to stay where he was and that I would go check it out.

The yelling was louder the farther I had gotten outside and ended up running most of the way. I could tell who it was by the voice. Paul was lying on the ground behind Jake's house, Emily was standing over him trying to get him to lay still so she could wrap something on his knee.

"What happened?" I asked Sam as I got closer.

"He got brave. He saw what he thought was the last vampire running away and chased him," Sam said shaking his head. "It turned out to be a trap. Two vampires cornered him against a boulder. Leah and I just barely got to him in time."

"Is he ok? I mean, what's wrong?"

"Well, from what I can see, his knee is broken and so is his arm. Seems like there's something wrong with his shoulder, but he swears he is ok and won't let anyone check it out."

"Carlisle have a chance to look at him?" I asked.

"I don't- Ugh! – Need no damn leech… Ouch! I'm fine," Paul yelled, but I could tell he wasn't fine.

"Carlisle didn't have time, the uh, the whatever their called are there."

My heart sunk into my stomach. It was time and I had no idea what to expect the outcome to be.

"I'll go get some of Jake's pain meds," I said, gesturing to Paul as I turned to walk back into the house.

As I walked back inside, I closed the door and leaned my back against it and stood still. My breathing became hard and ragged with tears escaping my eyes as I sunk to the floor. It would be stupid to deny that I was terrified.

They could decided to let me live. I could go on, live a full and happy life with Jacob. Do whatever I chose, whenever I chose to do it, or, they could chose to end my life. Right here, right now. I had no control over anything they decided to do.

I knew I should have been with the Cullen's sorting out my future, but I couldn't leave Jake. I couldn't leave Charlie, even though he wasn't there, he would be soon and I wanted to be the one to tell him what happened. I wanted a chance to say goodbye, but at the same time, I wanted to fight for it all. I had never felt so helpless before.

"Bells, you ok?" I heard Jake grumble as he slowly limped out of his room.

I wiped the tears away, sniffling as I stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied.

"Bells," he grunted and groaned as he tried to limp faster to me.

"Jake, you need to stay in bed," I told him, meeting him the rest of the way, wrapping an arm around his waist. I tried to lead him to the couch at least, but he held me still.

"Stop. Bells, it's ok to be scared. I'm scared, but I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing. As much as I hate to sound all _Edward Cullen _here, I couldn't live without you." He brushed the leftover tears from my eyes and more started to fall. He leaned in, kissed my forehead, and then moved his lips to mine. He pulled away a little and while putting a hand on my cheek, he stared into my eyes. "Isabella Swan, you are the most important thing in this world to me. They aren't going to get you so easily. If they want you, they are going to have to kill all of us."

I pushed up on my toes, carefully pulling him closer, and crushed my lips to his. Every kiss we shared was exactly like the first one. Electric currents flowing, blood boiling, the intensity was unlike anything I had ever heard of or felt and it only got better each time.

I hated to pull away, but I knew I had too.

"Be right back," I told Jake as I ran in his bedroom and ran back out.

"What are those for?" he asked.

"Paul," I told him, completely forgetting he didn't know yet.

"What happened?"

"Paul was, well… being stupid. They thought they had gotten all the vampires, but instead of letting the pack know, when he saw one he chased it. It led him into a trap with another vampire and they cornered him before the pack had gotten to him. Couple broken bones, but other than that he's fine."

Jake sighed. "Ok, hurry back."

I smiled. "I will, but only if you get back into bed."

"Yes ma'am," he said and wobbled back to his bedroom.

Back outside, Paul wasn't any calmer. He was still in a lot of pain and I was starting to think the healing wasn't going right. I gave him some of the pain meds. After he refused twice, he finally gave in. I didn't know what to do about the broken bones. Emily tried to wrap his knee, but it was useless. I was pretty sure it was shattered and he didn't let her touch it.

I talked to Sam a few minutes about the ideas of Paul's healing and the only thing we could agree on was he needed to see a doctor. Too bad that option was out since the only doctor who could was in the middle of debating my future. The healing fast from being a werewolf was great sometimes, but other times, if something heals incorrectly, it may have permanent damage.

Sam told me I could go on back and check on Jake. I got halfway inside the house and the phone started ringing. I froze mid step and held my breath. Jake peeked around the corner and saw me standing there and slowly walked over to answer the phone.

Maybe it was slowly, I wasn't sure. Everything was in a sort of slow motion; even my heart beat was slow. I couldn't hear the words that were spoken, I couldn't hear anything except for my own heart beat, that was suddenly beating erratically. When he hung up the phone, everything went back to its normal movement with a sort of a whoosh. When I came back to the present, my hand was on my chest as I gasped for air. I tried to focus on what Jake was telling me.

"Bella," he started, but I could tell by his tone, it wasn't good. He wouldn't look at me.

"Jake, what is it?" I asked, as my heart was trying to pound out of my chest.

"We have to go." He walked towards the door, grabbing my hand, leading me with him.

"What's going on?" Breathing became painful as thoughts swarmed my head.

"Sam it's started, just as we feared," he said, as soon as Sam was in sight. Sam turned to look at Jake then me just before he looked at the ground. The rest of the pack froze, even Paul.

"What? What's started? Will someone please tell me what's going on?" I begged.

"Who told you?" Sam asked.

"The little one somehow snuck away to call. She saw it happening a minute ago and I could hear something going on in the background."

"Are you not hearing me?" I shouted, no one would look at me.

"What exactly has happened already?"

"Arguing. Uh, " Jake froze, looking down at me, I couldn't figure out the look in his eyes, but as he spoke his next words, a pain that I had felt what seems so long ago mildly returned, knocking the air out of me. "Edward argued with them, until..."

"What?" I barely asked. I knew what it was he didn't want to say. I closed my eyes, I didn't want to even think the words.

"Are they coming here?" Sam asked, and my knees weakened.

"I'm not sure yet, but I… I don't think we should wait. If we go now, we might have a better chance," Jake told him.

"Jake you are not in any condition for more fighting," Sam said.

"I can handle it."

"Fighting… Who's fighting? Fighting for what? You're not fighting, you can barely stand. What the hell is going on?" I rambled on loudly. I took as step aside so I could see all of their faces at once. I felt a slight burn course through my veins, it took all that I had to keep it together.

"Bella," Jake said, moving to put his hands on my shoulders. "Did you really think it would only be a discussion?"

I wasn't sure. Maybe my hope had gotten in the way of the truth. Would they really be able to talk it out? Talk out the possibility of my death, the possibility of them letting the wolves live too. Two of the things the Volturi obviously disagreed with. Did I really think that they would let me live because I had become one of them? Why would that make me different? Why would that make me any better than human?

As I stood there looking at the faces of people in front of me, the ones who accepted me into their family, the ones whose lives were more in danger now than ever because of it, I started thinking. What was it about me that brought the ones I loved so much danger. Was it really worth fighting for? Should I just hand the Volturi my life in return for everyone else's? Would that work? Surely I was not going to let them all fight for me again. Jake and Paul were already badly injured, who had to die for it? No one. It was time I put a stop to it.

"Bella?" Jake said, pulling me out of my trance.

"Stupidly," I responded.

He tried to put his arms around me, but I stepped away.

"So what has happened already?" I asked, taking a deep breath.

"I-I'm not really sure."

"But something happened to Edward? Anyone else possibly added to that list?" My heart broke as I spoke, but I stayed strong. Visibly.

"No other specific names said, but…"

I walked away in the middle of his sentence. I didn't need to hear anymore.

"Bella wait!" he yelled, managing to run after me.

"No Jacob, I can't. I'm done with this."

"What are you talking about?" he asked as I started taking of my clothes. "What are you doing?" He turned away.

"I will not let anyone else get hurt and I surely will not be responsible for any deaths. They want me, they got me." After I tied my clothes to my ankle, I phased and started running, never looking behind and not listening for anyone else who may have joined me.

I ran until I got to that old abandoned factory. As I got closer, I wondered why they never tore the damn things down after they were done with them. You never see them have any good use after they are abandoned. In movies, television shows, and even in real life, something bad always happened in them. Never once had I thought I would have something bad happen in one in my life. Then again, nothing in my life was something I had ever thought would happen. My life these days are like pages taken out of some fucked up book. I could only hope that like any story, my life would have some type of happy ending too.

Once I was there, I phased out and got dressed before I went in. _Why couldn't werewolves talk? Sure, we could communicate with pack members, but not other supernatural things. Well, not unless that supernatural thing was a mindreading vampire that is. Whoever makes up the shit as they go had something seriously wrong with them._

When I finally got my thoughts under control, for the moment, I took one last deep breath before walking into those same doors that held the one thing I truly feared. It felt like days had passed since the last time I had walked in there. Only this time I was positive I wouldn't be making it out. This time I had no hope.

I could hear some type of commotion going on deep inside. It felt like I was going to puke. My stomach was in knots, I didn't know if my heart was going to explode and my brain was throbbing with every thought. _How did everything come down to this?_

It was the final moment, I was right outside the last door and I was sure they knew I was there. The room had suddenly gone silent. I didn't waste any time, I threw open the door and all the vampires froze.

"Well there she is now," Aro said in his sickeningly cheerful voice.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" Alice asked and she suddenly appeared by my side, with what looked like a guard member behind her.

I couldn't look at her, I couldn't look at any of them and I didn't have too to know that Edward wasn't in the room and neither was Caius. I stared at Aro.

"I'm here, what do you want to do with me?" I asked in a voice I didn't even recognize.

"Well, I'm a bit surprised to tell you the truth. What would you like me to do with you?" he asked, obviously curious about my response.

"You know, honestly, I don't even care anymore. If you want me dead for not following your rules, then do it. Get it over with. I will not have the ones I care about suffer for my existence."

"Bella," Carlisle started, but once Aro moved, he stopped.

"I did not expect you to make this so easy. It's a shame it is already too late for no one to be hurt. Poor Edward could not agree with the decision. Any of them apparently," He said, looking down and shaking his head. I held my breath.

"Bella, don't do this. Please," Esme whispered.

I had kept my eyes on Aro since I had walked through the door. I was in the moment when I looked at Esme that I realized the position everyone was in. I hadn't realized that just by me being there that everything would have stopped. At least not so suddenly.

A couple of the beams were broken and some of the left over machines were in pieces. Emmett's clothes were torn and dirty and Jasper's were a little to. Alice looked terrified and Carlisle was calm as always. Esme looked like she would cry if she could and Rosalie wouldn't even look at me, not that there was a real surprise there.

The room was silent, but the sound of slamming and the banging of doors was a quick interruption. In one moment it went from just the Volturi, the Cullen's and myself, to a room full of wolves. The Volturi guard was quick to react.

"No," I yelled. Jacob was soon by my side and I couldn't believe he had actually phased. Then again, I should have. Reading the look in his eyes, he didn't have to speak for me to understand him.

"I had to Jake. I told you. I couldn't take it anymore."

I was focused on the look in his eyes when I suddenly felt a hand at my throat, pulling me back. Jake growled and another wolf moved to his side.

"It's too late," Aro laughed. "She's already made her decision."

"Aro, please. There has to be a way to work this out," Carlisle said.

"Carlisle, you know the rules. You of all people should understand how we work."

"That doesn't make it right. She is no longer just human anymore, that should mean something shouldn't it? No, she isn't one of us, but…"

"No, she isn't. She's worse this way. To be one of them." He made a sound of disgust, as if it wasn't filled in voice.

"Please think about this. This is unneeded violence." Carlisle continued to persuade him, but his decision was made. I was as good as dead.

The wolves were surrounding the area and the guard tried holding them back, but it wouldn't be long before they broke out into a fight. In that moment I realized how stupid I was and stupid I had been all along. First, I really thought they would let me live and second, I really had thought they would not fight after I died. There was only one option left.

I looked at Aro, the Cullen's, then at the wolves. The wolves were growling, Sam was staring at me, trying to tell me something that I just couldn't understand. Alice wouldn't look at me, she too looked like she was about to cry. Carlisle looked sad and disappointed. I closed my eyes. I knew what I had to do. I agreed with Carlisle, I didn't like violence, but there was no other way out. The only thought that kept repeatedly bouncing around in my head was, '_it was now or never.' _

Without really knowing what I was going to do, I opened my eyes, looked at Sam one more time, nodded my head once, turned as much as I could to look up at Aro and smiled. He cocked his head to the side, confused. I held my smile, closed my eyes and phased.

I could hear a gasp across the room. I couldn't tell who it had come from. The motion from phasing under his hand had knocked Aro back. I stood in front of him, still staring. Behind me, I could hear each of the wolves growling as the sounds of battle started once again. Jake was at my side, couching down, snarling at Aro.

"Well look at this," Aro said, laughing. "Are _you _going to kill _me?" _he asked. I didn't respond.

I didn't know what I was going to do.

_Bella, that was the stupidest thing you have ever done, _Jake said.

_Jake, now is not the time to discuss that, _I told him.

Before he had time to respond, something jumped on my back and dug it's nails into me. I let out a howl as I jump up trying to get it off. It was one of the guards. I shook and jumped until I knocked him off. In that moment, with Jake and I distracted, Aro took the advantage and lunged at me.

I had never seen, or heard of him fighting, but I supposed now would be as good of time as any. He was running out of guard members. Jake bit into his side and tried to pull him off, but his grip on my neck was too tight. I continued to try and shake them off of me, and the guard member decided to give up and go after Jake. Aro finally let go and tried to lunge at me again, but I was a bit faster than he was.

I jumped a few feet back from him and he kept trying to catch me as I darted back and forth. His smile disappeared, as he grew irritated. I tried to picture the room and realized that if I kept in that direction I would end up cornering myself again, so I moved to my left and we ended up circling.

The room, a lot smaller than it had seemed before, was filled with vampire and werewolves once again teaming up to fight vampires to save my life. For a moment I wondered if there was ever going to be a day where I wasn't the constant target, but it was Sam's voice telling me to focus that knocked the thoughts away.

Aro was completely focused on me. His hands were extended out, hoping for a chance to catch me. I jumped forward and backward, waiting for my moment to get him. Instead, he lunged at me again. He was a lot tougher than he looked, but was still more fragile than his younger guard members were.

I could hear and see Jake fighting, he was doing a lot better than I had thought would have. Aro was still trying to get a grip on me, but I moved too much and he moved backwards again. I snapped at him a couple times, trying to bite one of his hands, but I had no such luck.

A loud screeching sound coming from a vampire who just lost his face, distracted the both of us. We both turned to look in the direction, but instead of taking that chance to attack me, Aro ran. I chased him down the halls and through what was left of the doors until we were outside. He kept running, but I could tell he didn't know where he was going. I continued to chase him through the trees.

_Let him go Bella, come back here, _Sam said.

_No. I will not let him go. If he gets away, this will never end._

_I don't think you can take him on your own._

_I don't have any other choice._

He disagreed, but I stopped listening. I made my choice.

I could tell Aro grew confused on which direction to take. He slowed down just enough for me to catch up. He ended up making a circle and heading back toward the factory. I was a little more than a foot behind him, just close enough to get him. I jumped and landed right on his back, knocking him down. I opened my mouth and bit down, right on the back of his neck. He screamed with his face in the dirt.

"Bella, please don't. We can work something out you can live." He pleaded, but I ignored him. "I swear to it, we will leave you alone. You, the Cullen's and the wolves will never hear from, or see me, or any of the Volturi again. I swear." I wanted to believe him and I almost did.

I loosened my grip on his neck for a second and shifted my weight. He flipped his body over, still under me and wrapped his hands around my throat. A faint smile returned to his lips as he tightened his grip.. I knew it was a trick. The sound of Jake's voice flowed through my head as he yelled for me.

Little did he know, I was prepared for that. In fact, I wanted him to do what he did. He thought he had me. His hands were just lose enough for me to still move a little. I threw my head forward and bit his face. His hands dropped from my throat to my chest, trying to push me off. He yelled and screamed again, but this time nothing he did affected me.

_It will not end if he is still alive, _I told myself. I bit harder.

When I yanked my head backwards, I pulled his jaw off. He could no longer make any sound, or beg for his life. I stared into his eyes as they filled with terror knowing what would soon come. A strange surge filled my body that I had never felt before. Never had I wanted a death to come more than I had right then. He threatened me, my families and he was responsible for Edward's death. I had no remorse for what I was about to do.

He tried once again to push me off, but he couldn't. I bent forward and bit his neck. With one last jerk, while staring into his blood red eyes, I ripped his head right off. His body still shook under me as I tossed his head to the side. I continued tearing his body apart.

I had killed a vampire before. In the same day even, but that was different. What I had just done was something so unlike me. To stare in the eyes of someone, or something, and smile as I tore them limb from limb was something that human Bella would never have done. In that moment, I knew, nothing would ever be the same. Not even close. The seventeen-year-old Bella Swan that moved from Phoenix, Arizona didn't exist anymore.

* * *

**A/N: **_I am really sorry for the very long wait for this chapter. So much stuff has been going on and well, long story short, real life sucks. Hopefully, though I know I have said it before, things are better now and I have gotten a head start on the next chapters. Just some rereading to do and they are done. _

_Just wanted to thank you all for the awesome reviews. When I started doubting I would get this story finished, all the reviews I have gotten over time have kept me writing. =)_

_Well, I hope you guys like this chapter. I tossed in a little twist, it helped me crank out a few more chapters. Let me know what you think?_


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The fighting had gone on for not too much longer. When I was done with Aro, I wondered off in the forest thinking. After I was sure they didn't need me, I blocked the pack out so I could have my thoughts to myself. I was told that Alice had gone to get the pieces of Aro.

I sat on a huge rock next to a cliff for about forty-five minutes before I had gotten tired of my own thoughts. I didn't feel guilty for what I had done and that's what had me feeling sort of uncomfortable. I didn't really know how I should have felt. Overall it wasn't too bad. At least it wouldn't have been to the rest of the pack, but the Cullen's, they would be going home without one of their family. That part was what got to me most.

I couldn't process the thoughts of Edward being dead. I couldn't imagine him dying over protecting me, not after what had happened between us. I could maybe understand the arguing, but what could have happened that got him killed? Why would he have taken it that far? That is what I couldn't think about anymore. A slight pain shredded through my chest at the thoughts. That was what I did feel guilty about.

Once I had released the block, I got a rush of voices celebrating the success of the fight. I started to walked my way back to where I thought everyone still was. I wasn't ready to face the Cullen's yet though, but I knew there was no avoiding them.

_Are you ok Bells? _Jake asked.

_Yeah._

_The rest of the pack is heading back to the rez, I'll wait for you._

_No, it's ok. I'll meet you there._

I felt a bit of relief knowing I wouldn't have to see the Cullen's right then, but there was still something nagging at me that I couldn't figure out.

_Are you sure? I don't mind._

_Yeah, it's fine. I'll be there soon. I won't block you out._

_Ok._

I didn't feel like being in wolf form anymore, so I ran all the way back to the rez. Luckily I had thought to leave an extra pair of clothes at Jake's.

It didn't take too long to get back and everyone was all phased back, enjoying food Emily had just cooked. Paul had stayed behind since it was obvious he was in no shape to phase, or join the rest of us. He was excited to hear all the stories when we got there. He was also surprised to hear about me taking on Aro myself. He was sure I would have needed help, but he also didn't think Aro would have ran either, at least not from what he had heard about him anyways.

I grabbed one of the rolls Emily had put in a basket on the table a walked outside to sit on the porch. Jake followed behind me and sat next to me on the ground.

"Are sure you're ok?" he asked again in a quiet voice.

"I will be," I sighed.

"That was some pretty crazy stuff back there. I still can't believe you did that," he said.

"What was I supposed to do Jake?" I said quietly. "I know, I didn't fully think it through, but what else is new? I just knew I couldn't take it anymore and you guys were right. If we didn't go right then, we would have lost the chance to surprise them."

"Yeah, but if you would have waited two more minutes, we would have all gone together."

"Well it worked out ok this way, didn't it?"

"Sure, this time. What if he would have killed you?"

"At that point I honestly didn't care. There comes a time in someone's life where you just get tired of being hunted all the time. Well, that was that time for me. But I knew, even if I would have let him kill me, you would all still fight. So, I took advantage of being close. Like I said, it worked."

"Next time, don't do it again."

"Do you expect there to be a next time? Who else is out there that would want to kill me? Actually, don't answer that."

Jake laughed and put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. I rested my head on his chest and sighed. I was exhausted.

"I hope whoever it is at least gives me a break before they come after me."

After about a minute of silence, another thought occurred to me. Where were the rest of the Volturi?

"Jake, where were the rest of the Volturi?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It was only Aro there."

"Well, from what I heard, Edward killed Caius, that's why… Anyways, I don't know. I didn't really think about that. How many more where was supposed to be? I didn't see any that has those "abilities" you were talking about."

"Well, there's Jane, Alec, Marcus…. Well, quite a few more." I sat there in thought for a moment, until a car unexpectedly pulled up to the house. I stood up once I recognized the car.

"Carlisle," I said walking out to meet him.

"Hello Bella," he said closing the car door. "I thought I would come over and see how Paul was doing. I heard he was injured pretty badly."

"Oh, uh yeah. He's right in here," I said, leading him into the house.

My heart was pounding hard in my chest. I wasn't sure what his reaction would be towards me after the day we had all had, but by the way he looked at me and the light smile he wore, I didn't think it was too bad.

I stood in the doorway watching as Carlisle checked over Paul's injuries. Sam and I were right, broken arm, shoulder, and his knee was crushed. Luckily though it had been healing right and there wouldn't be another incident like Jake's.

Once he was finished he asked me to go outside with him, so I did. We talked for a minute. He told me that he wasn't mad at me. I guess I was making my curiosity with that kind of obvious.

"I thought for sure you would all be," I started, he rested a hand on my shoulder and I kept my eyes down on the ground.

"Bella, nothing about this day gone the way we had hoped. Nothing happened that was expected. You did what you had to do."

"Did I really? Did I have to kill him? Why don't I feel bad about it?" The words came out barely in a whisper. I couldn't stop the single tear that fell down my cheek.

"You did what you had to do. I believe that and so does the rest of us. He would have killed you, even if not today, he would have been back."

"Do you really believe that? Honestly? And where was the rest of the Volturi? What is going to stop them from coming after me once they hear what happened?"

"That's right. You didn't hear what happened before you had gotten there. The reason behind what happened to Edward."

"What do you mean? I heard Edward was killed because he killed Caius."

Carlisle laughed lightly, which I found a bit odd considering the topic. "No. Aro killed Caius for what he had done. Caius was already on a thin line with the rest of the Volturi for other reasons we don't really need to know about. Aro had had enough of it. A fight broke out before you had gotten there. I was in the middle of trying to discuss with Aro to stop it. Oh another thing, I thought you could see what all the other pack members were doing while you were phased?"

"Uh, we can. We'll when there's so much going on, it's kind of hard to see everything. Why, what happened?"

"Well, the Volturi were all there."

"They were? I-I didn't see them. I would have known. Wouldn't I?" I was confused.

"Well like you said, there was so much going on. I would imagine you were focused on Aro. I think Aro was pretty distracted himself. I don't think he really imagined your little mind block would affect the whole pack."

"Wait a minute." I shook my head as I tried to process it all. "All of them were there?"

"Yes. I didn't know that either. I was quite surprised when only Aro and Demetri had showed up at first. Well, of course a few of the other guard members. That is what happened to Edward. He had gotten into and argument with Aro and Demetri went after him. Edward tried to defend himself and Emmett had to step in. Of course the other guard members got involved and Jasper tried to help. Edward and Emmett successfully stopped Demetri, only Edward wasn't so successful. He was injured very badly. Moments after that, you came in, surprising us all."

"Wait, so if I came in a few minutes earlier, none of that would have happened?" I was even more angry with myself than words could describe.

"Bella, that would have happened rather you were there or not. It actually may have been worse if you did show up earlier."

"I can't believe that. Anyways, so when did the rest of the Volturi show up?"

"After the pack showed up and you phased. Once you started fighting Aro, Jane and Alec came in. When Aro ran, that was when he realized they were greatly outnumbered. He was hopeful that between Jane and Alec, we would have all been stopped. Their abilities only worked on us, not the pack."

"So, it did work... What happened to Jane?"

"Your pack leader, Sam, well he got a hold of her. Two of the other wolves got Alec. The rest of us all went after whoever was left."

"What about the rest of the Volturi though? Felix had to have been there, Marcus too. Were they involved in the fight too?"

"Felix yes, but I do not remember seeing Marcus there now that I think about it. Maybe he did stay behind, but why…" Carlisle drifted off for a moment and I took advantage of the silence to think about everything I had just heard.

I knew my mind blocked the pack from Edward and I had forgotten about the other vampire in the guard who said his ability wouldn't work. But hearing it stopped Jane and Alec, that was something else. I really hadn't even known they were there. I was even more glad knowing I hadn't blocked the pack out while focusing on Aro.

I stared at the tires on the Mercedes, lost in thought. Suddenly everything turned into a blur and I felt a tremendous weight on my brain. I had never felt something more overwhelming than I had in that moment. It was good to know that the majority of the Volturi was gone and to know they weren't able to harm the pack because of my block, but how long would it take for Marcus to prepare to get his own revenge. Of course I couldn't just assume he wouldn't.

"Bella, are you ok?" I heard Carlisle's voice ask.

"Y-yeah. I'm ok, I think. It's just a lot to process. How long do you think it will take for Marcus to come after me now?" I had to ask.

"Honestly I don't know. I don't even know that he would."

"He wouldn't build up a new guard and do it? Why wouldn't he. He lost the people he considered to be like his family. I know neither of you guys would sit back and let something like that happen."

"No, we wouldn't, but for some reason, I don't think he would do that. I think you all may be the one thing that could always get in the way of the Volturi."

"Your family too. Don't forget you were the original threat to the Volturi. Edward has said something about that once, I just can't remember it now."

"I suppose that is true. I don't know. Maybe now we will never know, but the point is now, you are ok."

"I'm not so sure that's as great as it sounded a few days ago."

"It will be better. As I said before, just don't forget who you are. It's not too late for that."

"Are you sure? I feel like I have already changed so much, I'm not sure I even know who I am anymore."

"I don't think that's true. Give it some time. Of course right now you won't know. That was a pretty big thing that happened today. That doesn't change who you are, just what you can do. You are not the version of yourself we all grew to love so much anymore, but you're you and your heart hasn't changed any. I can see that right now." He smiled as he turned to put his bag in the trunk of the car.

"Thank you Carlisle. I'll keep that in mind. So, how long are you guys staying around?"

"Not too much longer. A few more days at the most. It'll give us enough time to pack and prepare for the move."

"Will I get to say goodbye?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"Of course. We could never leave without saying goodbye to you first. Nothing has changed Bella, we still think of you as our family."

"Emmett has said that, but I wasn't sure if you all still felt that way. Not after all of this."

He walked over and put both of his hands on my shoulders. "You are not to blame for this Bella. You need to understand that."

"Ok, ok I will. Thanks again, Carlisle," I told him, wiping a tear from my eyes.

"See you soon," he said as he got in the car. I stood in the same place and watched as he drove away.

I was so focused I didn't even hear as Jake walked up behind me. He put his arms around me and I jumped.

"Sorry. How's everything?" he asked.

"Well, everything makes a lot more sense now, I think."

"Really? How so?" he turned me around to face him.

"For one, all but one of the Volturi was there. I was so focused I didn't see them. I guess too that the reason Aro ran was because he thought for sure that Jane and Alec's ability would have worked on the pack. When it didn't he panicked."

"Was Jane the little blond who Sam took out?"

His choice of words made me shiver. Thinking of Sam "taking out" tiny Jane, was something I was glad I missed. Powerful vampire or not, I still pictured her as a child.

"Yes."

"So who was the one that didn't show?"

"Marcus, but Carlisle doesn't think he will want revenge, but we'll see."

"You don't believe him?"

"Like I can really assume anything like that anymore," I laughed.

The rest of the evening was fairly calm. The guys were running around goofing off like normal. All I wanted to do was go home and take a shower, but I knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Charlie and Billy came over to Emily and Sam's once they were done fishing. I was a little worried. I hadn't seen Charlie since I phased in front of him. I didn't know what his reaction would have been.

When they first got back, he was laughing with Billy when he was walking through the door. I was sitting alone on the couch, staring at the wall when he sat down on the couch next to me. He had a worried expression on his face and I didn't know what to expect.

"So, should I be concerned about what happened today?" he asked right away.

"What do you mean?"

"Paul's pretty beat up and Jake doesn't look to much better. You've got cuts on your wrist too. Well at least I think they were cuts, I never seen them before, but they look old," he pointed out. I never even noticed the cuts.

"Probably not something you really want to know Dad," I told him, and I felt a bit guilty.

"Actually, I do want to know, not now, but someday. I'm still taking in what, what you are now and what I'm assuming they are too," he said, gesturing to the guys in the kitchen.

"Yeah. It's something I'm still getting used to too."

He wrapped and arm around my shoulder and gently hugged me for a second.

"As long as you are ok now, I guess that's what is most important. I know it had to be something pretty big though to leave them in such bad shape," he laughed nervously.

"Something like that." I laughed too.

If only he really knew what all existed in the world. I don't think he could handle that all so soon. Finding out that your daughter has somehow been turned into a werewolf, well that is a big thing. Realizing that all the huge guys she hangs out with are too and that your best friend hid it from you the entire time, that's pushing his limit I think. But, finding out that there vampires, some you had even gotten to know and that your daughter had dated, that's a little too much. Like he said though, someday he will find out and that day will be a crazy one I'm in no hurry to get too.

* * *

A/N: A little shorter than before, but that's just the way it turned out. Sorry.

Hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to let me know if you did, even if you didn't. Always so interested to hear what your responses are.

Also, hope you all had a wonderful Easter. =)


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

About an hour after Charlie and Billy had returned, everyone started slowly drifting home for some much-needed rest. They are all able to enjoy the fact that it was all over and they were finally going to be able to catch up on sleep. Everyone except for me.

I knew wouldn't be able to sleep, but that didn't stop me from trying. I had decided to head home with Charlie and he was happy to have me home for once. As soon as I got home, I went upstairs and took a very long and very hot shower. I decided to go downstairs and watch whatever sports game Charlie had on TV. He was surprised that I was down there, but happy. I could tell from the smile on his face.

It was boring of course and didn't hold my attention, but it was nice to relax. Once he had fallen asleep, I decided to go upstairs and lay down. I thought about maybe reading since it was something I hadn't done in what seemed like forever. I went through three different books before I decided that nothing would take my mind off everything that had gone on. Everything reminded me of the events in the past, good and bad. I then decided that maybe sometime in the next couple of days, I would have to take a trip to the bookstore.

I turned out the lights and laid in bed for a few hours before I was finally able to drift off to sleep. I woke up several times to different nightmares. They were mostly of the fighting between vampires and wolves, very vivid and violent. When the sun finally rose, I gave up and went downstairs to make breakfast. I made pancakes, bacon and eggs for Charlie. I didn't have much of an appetite, but once he came downstairs, I made myself eat a little bit.

After asking me if I was okay several times, Charlie finally gave up and went to work. It was quiet for most of the morning, until Jake came over. I felt better once I was in his arms on the couch, watching a movie and having some much needed _us_ time, but something still felt weird. I knew it would take time as Carlisle had said, to feel better about the events of the day before and I could only hope he was right. One specific detail left me feeling wrong. Edward.

Thoughts of him were what kept me up all night. In between the nightmares of battle, I had a few of him being killed. I loved him once; it was safe to say that a part of me always would. Thinking of him being gone forever, it just wasn't right. Something felt wrong with the world. Being happy that the threats were gone, at least just for a while, felt wrong. The whole situation left me wondering. I felt myself getting completely lost in thoughts about it more than I wanted too.

Jake knew there was something wrong and he knew what it was, so he didn't bother asking. He just did what he could to make me feel better. He tried to keep me distracted. He would put on all of my favorite movies and even offered to let me read him some parts of my favorite books as we had talked about once. He wanted me to help him understand why I loved the books that I did. I just wasn't in the mood. He had even rented the movie we had gone to see in theaters a while back. _Face Punch_. While that was entertaining for a while, making fun of it the way he had before, it eventually ended.

We went to the rez for a while. He helped Sam work on his truck and I sat in the living room with Emily. She talked about many different things, from different recipes she wanted to try, to being happy that she didn't have to worry about Sam so much, at least not for a while. I kept in on the conversations, but she too knew something was wrong.

After a while I decided it was time to head back home and get dinner started for Charlie. I invited Jake to come over, be he said that Charlie and I needed to spend more time together, I didn't argue. I put on my happy face before I went inside, but it didn't fool him thought. I was starting to wonder if anything ever really had.

Once dinner was done, eaten and cleaned up, I said goodnight and went upstairs. I could feel it was going to be another repeated night, but I tried to sleep anyways. I woke up after about hour of sleep from another nightmare. I was glad they weren't the screaming kind like I used to have, these just had me waking up painfully gasping for air. I was ok once I realized I was at home in my bed. It was really just that hard to believe everything had turned out the way it had.

While I was sitting up in bed, leaning my head against the headboard thinking things over, I heard a tap on my window. I smiled as I threw the blankets back, thinking it was Jake. I had started thinking maybe I would get some better sleep if he stayed over, but I wasn't prepared for what I was about to see outside my window.

"Edward?" I gasped in shock.

"You think I could come in?" he asked, sitting on the branch of the tree outside my window.

"Oh. Oh! Of course," I said, throwing the window open and standing back as he jumped in.

"W-what the hell," I started, but words failed me.

"What?" he asked, looking at me with a hint of his crooked smile.

"You're… You're supposed to be dead."

"Would you rather I be, because I can arrange that," he said, gesturing out the window and I punched his arm. "_Oh._ I forget you're a bit stronger now." He laughed, rubbing the spot I had hit.

"What happened? They said you were killed, but…"

"I'm not?" he laughed again.

"Will you stop joking around. I'm serious."

"I know and I'm sorry. It's just, the look on your face just now. If I didn't know any better… I have never seen you so white."

"Well, when you think someone is dead and they show up at your window in the middle of the night, it kind of has that effect."

"True, you have a point there." He moved over and sat down on the edge of my bed. If I didn't know any better, I would swear I was dreaming. He was acting as if nothing happened.

"Edward, would you mind explaining what happened?"

"Oh right. Well, you know most of what happened in the fight, right? Demetri didn't kill me. He attacked me and I fought him and Felix. I got hurt pretty badly, even after Emmett stepped in to help, so I needed a few days to heal, but I'm ok now."

Apparently I had missed something. He was alive, standing perfectly normal in my bedroom as he had so many times before. So many thoughts were rushing around in my head, but only one stood out. It was something during the conversation with Carlisle. _"Edward wasn't so successful. He was injured very badly." _He never said he had died, just injured badly. How could I have missed that? How did I not notice his lack of mourning until that moment? I was very frustrated, but I decided I would get back to that later.

"You're acting like nothing has happened. I thought you were dead, dead because of me. I have been moping around here, driving people crazy while believing I was responsible for your death and you show up like it's no big deal."

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I don't know how to act really... I heard you killed Aro," he said, looking a bit surprised.

"Yes, another thing that has been bugging me," I told him, looking towards the other side of the room.

"Well, I'm not exactly happy that you did it, but I'm glad you are ok. I wish you would have let someone else do it though."

"Still worried about me being able to protect myself huh? Obviously, I can handle it. I was the only one who had the chance too; I was the closest. It was my life he was threatening and also, I was led to believe he was responsible for your death. Another thing that was a lie. I don't know what to think anymore."

"Bella, please."

"Edward, it's ok. There has just been so much. I don't know. It's just hard. I don't need any explanations. Just knowing you are alive and ok, I'm happy with that."

"So you were pretty upset."

"Yes," I said, folding my arms over my chest and sitting down on the corner of my bed next to him.

"I'm sorry," he kept his eyes on the floor.

"It's ok."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. I didn't know what to say, or where to even start. The last time I had seen him, he was begging me to attack him. Now he was, what was he doing? The thought that he had truly lost his mind made more sense than anything else did.

"Look Edward,"

"Bella, when I say I'm sorry, it's for everything." We spoke at the exact moment.

I didn't understand what he meant, but I was hoping he wasn't going back to blaming himself again.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry for acting like an idiot. For being so, hot and cold, as some people say. One minute I was ok, the next I was, I don't know loosing it? Like I said, I just don't know how to be around you anymore. I love you, I always will, but I know I can't have you. Not anymore. Your with Jacob now. I understand that. And well, I'm sorry I didn't accept that like I told you I always would have. After all, it's not like _imprinting_ was on your list of things to do that day," he laughed slightly, still looking at the floor.

"Well I didn't expect you to just sit down and take it, but I didn't expect you to act the way you did either. I don't know how a person should act in a situation like that, so I can't really say anything. I don't even know how I would act in a situation like that. Accepting that you didn't love me when you first moved away, that was hard and when I did it, nothing felt real anymore, so I don't expect it to be easy for you. Don't think that just because of the imprinting I don't love and care about you anymore, cause I do. I'm just not in love with you the way I was. It's hard to explain and I don't even know how to. I still don't even expect you to accept it, but I want you to be ok. I want you to be happy somehow, someway and I believe you will be in time."

"You are still way to generous," he laughed. "You should be angry with me, you should kick me right out of your room, which I have no business being in anymore anyways. I just had to see you."

"Friends can do this, but that's all this is, friendship." I smiled and put a hand on his that was sitting on his lap. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, and neither will you, well besides moving, but we can work around that. I still want you in my life, is that too selfish of me? You can say no."

"Of course I wouldn't say no, you should know me better than that. I had a thought earlier though." He paused for a moment before looking out of the window. "I guess we both should have been more specific in what we wanted, because I guess, in a way, we both got what we wanted."

"What are you talking about?"

"I wanted you stay alive, keep your soul. Be able to have children one day if you wanted. You wanted to live forever, with me of course, but we don't always get everything we want. You are alive, breathing and, as long as you chose, you can stay this way forever. We it all, just differently."

"Huh, I never thought of it that way."

We sat there in silence for a little longer until he stood up and started walking towards the window.

"Carlisle said we will be leaving soon. I hope you will stop by the house and say goodbye before we do."

"Of course. I would hate it if you left before I got the chance to thank you all and to see you one last time."

"Maybe it won't be the last time. Who knows, maybe we can visit, or you can visit us wherever we go."

"I would like that. I will miss you all like crazy."

I walked over towards him by the window. He reached out with one arm and put a hand slightly on my waist. He kissed me quickly and softly on my forehead, before ducking out the window and disappearing into the night.

While walking over to my bed to go back to sleep, I felt something crinkle in the pocket of my sweatpants. When I reached my hand in, I pulled a small piece of paper. It read:

_Be happy my Bella. No matter what happens in our lives,  
as long as you are alive and happy, it makes everything  
worth it. I will always be there if you need me to be._

_Edward_

I was able to sleep peacefully for once and wake in the morning with no nightmares.

* * *

_A/N: So, how did you like it? Review? Didn't really think I would kill him did you?_

_Only a few chapters left. =(_


	31. Chapter 31

_A/N: Sorry it's later than I had planned, but I got really caught up in working on a new story that has completely taken up all my free time. Hope you like it!_

* * *

Chapter 31

When I awoke the next morning, I felt more rested than I had in a long time. I even had a smile on my face, which was a shock even to me. A few moments before I opened my eyes, I suddenly knew I wasn't alone. I wasn't expecting anyone so I was a little afraid to open my eyes. I sniffed the air a little to see if I could catch a scent and my smile returned, wider than before, once I realized who it was.

"Good morning beautiful," Jake said as he moved to sit on the bed next to me, bent down, and kissed my lips softly.

"_Hmm_, good morning," I said, still smiling as I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him back in for another kiss. When I finally released him, he laughed quietly.

"I take it your feeling better today."

"Most definitely," I said, opening my eyes to see his.

"What's changed?"

"Everything. Everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be."

"How's that? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all. _Everyone_ survived the fight, the Volturi aren't going to be coming after me, you and I can finally enjoy our relationship they way we should have been able to from the beginning, Charlie knows what I am and has excepted it. Life is… good." I smiled again.

"_Everyone?_ What about…," he started hesitantly.

"Apparently it was a misunderstanding."

"Wow. Well, I never thought I would say this but I'm glad to hear that. How'd you find out?"

"He showed up last night, scaring the shit out of me."

"Oh really?" His tone held a bit of anger and possessiveness to it.

"Oh Jake," I laughed. "He was here for a minute or two, filled me in on the obvious details I missed and let me know he was going to be okay."

"Well, I guess that's uh, that's good."

I laughed again as I reached for his hand and pulled his face down to mine for another kiss. It was almost crazy how different it felt once I was relaxed and able to enjoy the way his lips on mine made me feel. I never wanted to let him go. He started to pull back way too soon and I held my grip on him. He laughed again against my lips and gently pried my fingers out of his hair.

"You know, if you do that again, I may not be able to control myself."

"That's sort of what I'm going for." I smiled. Jake looked a little shocked and he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Yeah well, I don't think Charlie will appreciate that very much." He smiled.

My eyes widened, somehow I managed to forget I was even in my room let alone my house. That brought me to a question I should have asked first.

"Exactly why are you here? Not that I mind of course."

His smile faded a little. "I've been worried about you the last couple of days. I wanted to check up on you, maybe take you out and get your mind off things. Apparently that is no longer an issue," he laughed.

"Oh, well thank you. We could still go out." I propped myself up on my elbows. "What all did you have in mind?"

The afternoon Jake had planned was wonderful. It was almost as though I was awake for the first time in months. Everything seemed brighter, smelled so much better, and even felt better. The weight of the stress I had been holding was more than I had even imagined. With it gone, I felt like I was actually able to live again. It was amazing.

To start the afternoon, Jake took me to a restaurant for lunch. It was nice to spend time alone, even though the place was crowded with people, it was only him and me in the room. After lunch, he took me to some book fair thing that was going on in Port Angeles. They had a great selection of books and I even bought a couple. I thought it was pretty perfect considering I had already planned on getting some new ones. Even Jake was enjoying himself. I couldn't keep my eyes off of his amazing smile. It was something that I hadn't see much of.

After the book fair, we headed back towards Forks, except he turned and went towards La Push instead.

"Where are we going?" I asked, a little confused.

"The rez."

"Not that I have a problem with that, but why?"

"You'll see."

"_Jake._"

"It's nothing bad," he laughed. "I promise."

"Ookay."

It was around five o'clock in the evening and I was a tad bit nervous at what he could have had planned. The rest of the day was normal and very enjoyable, so I had no idea what to expect. When we pulled up to his house and it was quiet, I was curious, but I soon learned I had nothing to worry about when he brought up watching a movie, or so I thought.

We sat on the couch, my head on his chest, and watched some romantic comedy. It was kind of a lame movie, but I didn't care. I was just glad to finally have some time with Jake alone, with no distractions, but as the movie grew closer to the end, I noticed him looking at the clock several times. It was starting to make me feel nervous again. Once the movie was over, I excused myself to the bathroom just as he looked at the clock again.

When I was done in the bathroom, I went out to realize I was alone in the living room. Whatever Jake was doing, I figured he would be back in soon, so I decided to sit on the couch and wait for him. As I walked over to the couch, I noticed there was a single rose petal lying on the cushion I was sitting on. I was sure it wasn't there before. I turned to look behind me to see if I could get an idea of where it came from, when I noticed there was another one on the floor next to the front door. Curiously, I opened the front door to see if Jake was outside and ended up finding another petal on the porch. I walked out looking farther to find more. I followed a trail of petals, which I quickly noticed was leading me down the path that Jake uses to get to the beach. I kept following them, growing more and more curious. Once I got to the end of the line of trees, I could see the opening to the beach. When I looked a little farther, I could see Jake standing on the shore with his back to me. I shook my head as I smiled at his sneakiness. I hated surprises, but it was something very unexpected and I found myself anxious to see what he had planned.

Once I started walking again, I realized the petals did in fact lead all the way to where Jake was standing, which just happened to be next to the tree we somehow always ended up at. I started laughing, until I seen the portable CD player that was sitting on one of the branches. He turned to face me, I looked at him suspiciously, and he smiled which oddly caused my stomach to flutter. He moved closer to me, grabbing my face gently and kissed me. My brain activity started to fuzz in and out like a bad reception and took a minute to regain my focus. I pulled away a little, looking him in the eyes.

"You know I hate surprises," I told him.

"Yeah, but you love me."

I laughed. "Yes, I definitely do."

I kissed him again, but that time he pulled away. He leaning over and unrolled a blanket to lie out over the sand. He pulled me down to sit next to him.

"This was very unexpected," I told him.

"Is it really that surprising that I could do something like this?" he laughed.

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Well, even though you hate surprises, I had to do something for you, for the exact reason you said this morning. Everything is as it should be."

I smiled as I rested my head on his shoulder, watching the sun start to set. I let out a comfortable sigh. "It definitely is."

As soon as I was starting to relax, Jake stood up, pulling me with him.

"What is it?" I asked

"Oh, nothing." He smiled, clearly up to something.

As we were standing there, I his body shifted a little and with a click, music started to fill the air. I looked at him suspiciously again. He reached for my hand as he wrapped his free arm around my waist, the other still holding my hand. I suddenly realized what he was doing.

"Jake, you know I can't dance."

"Well, I can't really either," he laughed. "So we're equal."

I gave in and rested my head on his shoulder again. I looked out towards the waves of the ocean as we slowly swayed to the music and I watched as the sky turned a beautiful pink and orange with the sunset. I couldn't have thought of anything more perfect. It was exactly what we needed.

A while after the sun had set and we were done with dancing, we decided to lay on the blanket and enjoy the beautiful, oddly clear night sky. It was amazing how many stars you could see from that spot. The music still played softly and we relaxed in the comfortable silence we so rarely got since all the chaos had started. I had my head on his chest, alternating between looking at the stars and watching the waves in the dark as the moon shown on them.

I was in a sort of trance listening to the sound of his heartbeat as my head would rise and fall with each breath he took. For once, I had just stopped thinking all together. I didn't want anything to ruin it. The sound of Jake's voice, which had vibrated through his chest, startled me and I my body jerked a little.

"It's getting late, maybe we should get you back home."

As much as I didn't want to, he was right. Charlie still wasn't used to everything that had been going on and he always feared what I was doing when I wasn't home. I didn't have to be a mind reader to know that that was what the look that spread across his face meant every time I left the house. After everything, I wanted to spare him whatever stress I could. I sighed in agreement.

It was a silent ride home and a thought occurred to me, but I kept silent about it until the last minute. Jake kept up the whole romantic thing and held my hand as he walked me to the door. He seemed a bit awkward and while I found it a little cute, I had a hard time fighting the laughter, but managed it.

When we came to a stop outside my front door, we stood their looking into each other's eyes for a moment before he leaned in to kiss me. I had no idea why it sill surprised me, but every kiss was still more amazing than the last. My whole world shook and my knees even shook a little with it. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug when I decided to put my thought into action.

"Come back later tonight," I whispered softly into his ear.

He pulled back slightly and looked at me with confusion and curiosity.

I leaned in, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I know you can sneak in without Charlie knowing."

"_Yeah, so._" He looked so cute when he was confused.

I laughed softly. "Well, it would just complete the night if I could fall asleep in your arms."

He smiled and kissed me lightly. "You don't have to tell me twice."

About two hours had passed before he came back. It gave me enough time to talk to Charlie about my day, which he actually wanted to hear about, and to take a shower. I was sitting down on my bed, looking through one of my new books when he tapped on the window. I set the book down and walked quickly to open the window for him. His first step in, he wrapped his arms around me and the warmth instantly comforted me.

At first he was unsure about staying, worrying a little too much about Charlie randomly coming into my room. I laughed a little, explaining that he never did that, unless I gave him reasons too. I pulled the blankets back and laid down, pulling him with me and snuggled up close to him once he was comfortable.

We talked for hours, about anything and everything. The past, the present and the future, things we never really got to discuss before. He had some questions for me, as I did for him. It was nice to have a relationship with complete openness and honesty, not one with constant questions and concerns. Jake kind of surprised me when he said that, since the imprinting, he keeps expecting to wake up and realize it was all a dream.

"Is this the kind of things you dreamt about? Dreams of me falling in love with you and then having to fight to the death, because some vampire rulers wanted me dead? "

He laughed. "No, not exactly. It just doesn't seem real. For a while there I was sure I was going to lose you to him, you were more and more determined to be changed and then I heard you and him talking about marriage. I was positive then that it was over, that I had lost everything. Kissing you was my one last hope and sometimes it doesn't seem real that that was all it took." He was staring at the wall straight ahead of him, seeming to be far away in thought.

"Yeah, who would have known it was one kiss that would change everything. One kiss that would allow me to open my eyes and my heart to you, that lead to the wall being dropped and the flood to poor in. Something like that, I don't know exactly how to explain it. I just know that, since Edward came back, I thought it felt so right, like everything was finally the way it was supposed to be, but in truth, it wasn't. What I thought was just my own doubt in his love for me, was my mind trying to come to terms with what I really felt was right. I think I was starting to realize my confusion that I told myself that loving Edward was right, so I wanted the change to come quicker. Once I was changed, there would be no more confusion, it would be too late to go back. I was happy with him, I really was, but I think I knew somewhere deep down, that I knew I could happier." I sighed heavily. "I'm still not sure how it all happened, or what exactly I was feeling and when. I just know that I was running out of time and I needed to just make a decision, I went with what I knew, what I thought my heart ached for. Not even realizing that that ache disappeared a long before Edward had even come back. I'm sorry for that."

"No need to apologize," he laughed. "It's done, it's over with. I love you and I know you love me, that is all that is important. It just sucks that I don't get enjoyment in the thought of wanting to rub it in that damn vamp's face and blast it in his thoughts. I was really looking forward to it too, but he kind of sucked the fun out of it."

I laughed at his choice of words and hugged myself closer to him. "Yes, I couldn't be happier with the way things have worked out."

Jake wrapped his arms around me and some point after that I had fallen asleep. It was a wonderful feeling having him lay there with me and I knew that I was going to make it happen as much as I possibly could. I was pretty sure I wouldn't get any arguments from his side.

Morning came quicker than I wanted it too. I tried to get him to stay longer, but he had some things to get done that day and wanted to get an early start on it so he could get done earlier. I laughed and forced my hands to release him. I had no idea why he kept insisting on using my window, even during the day when Charlie wasn't home, but all he could say was it was easier and he liked it better.

It took more energy than it should have pulling myself out of bed to say goodbye to him and I hated the fact that I had to wake up and watch him go at all. I hugged him tightly, kissed him goodbye and watched him jump out of my window. I was just turning to walk back over to my bed, when I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. It took all of two seconds to realize it was Charlie's cruiser and that for some reason he came back home.

I turned back around quickly to see Jake frozen in the spot he had landed in, just barely standing up all the way, with his eyes glued to the car. I held my breath as Charlie got out and… _rolled his eyes_?

"Use the door next time, Jake," he said, as he walked up to the house.

"O-Okay, Charlie," Jake replied, just as shocked as I was. I let out a gush of air as Jake looked up at me. I smiled nervously and shrugged, then watched him run off, shaking his head.

In that moment, I realized that there was no wondering anymore, I was positive nothing had ever gotten past Charlie.

* * *

_What do you think? I would _love_ to hear._

No this isn't the last chapter. Experiencing a little bit of writing difficulties for the ending. My brain just isn't wanting to cooperate.

Follow my twitter for more info: http:/www[.]twitter[.]com/rachxmichelle


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

After Jake had left, I was a little hesitant to go downstairs. I wanted to wait until after Charlie had left, but I had a feeling that he was waiting for me. I was also curious as to why he was home anyways. I decided to suck it up and see what was going on.

When I got downstairs, it was really quiet. I rounded the corner into the kitchen and came to a stop when Charlie was leaning against the corner deep in thought. I took a deep breath and let it out loudly to let him know I was there. I walked to the refrigerator to get some juice.

"Hey Bells," Charlie said. I was a little taken back by his tone. I expected some instant lecture about Jake staying over, but he seemed really calm.

"Hey Dad." I looked at him curiously, as I reached for a cup in the cabinet. When he didn't say anything I decided to keep talking. The room was filled with awkward silence, at least it was for me. "So, what are you doing home?"

"I left some papers here that I needed for an investigation that I was going over last night."

"Oh."

"Yeah, there was an old factory about thirty minutes out of town that mysteriously burned down. The previous owner's family lives in town so that's why we were called to it."

"Ah."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I wasn't aware that they had caught the whole building on fire, but I suppose with the fires they started for the vampires, it was a lot easier to cover up. I assumed anyways. I was deep in thought on the situation when I realized he was talking again.

"...what the cause was and there's no evidence, but we're just assuming it was some kids were messing around and it got out of hand. Not really much else we can do since it was going to be torn down in a few months anyways."

"Yeah, well that uh, that's good. I guess. Was anyone injured?"

"Nope."

I nodded and went back to pouring my juice. He was looking at me curiously, like he had a question he wasn't sure he should ask.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just… never mind. I probably don't want to know." He laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. "I'm just glad to see you a lot more relaxed lately and that whatever happened your home and safe."

I smiled. "Me too."

"So does that mean whatever was going on is done?"

"Yep." _For now, _I mentally added.

"Good, good. We'll I should get back to work."

"Alright." He nodded and started walking towards the door. He must have still been deep in thought because he forgot his papers again on the counter. "Hey uh, Dad."

"Yeah?"

"Your paperwork," I told him, pointing to the counter.

"Right," he laughed.

"And Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for the uh, the Jake thing. I swear he only slept over."

"I trust you Bells. You're smart and you've proven you are a very responsible young lady. You may not make the best of choices, but you're young, we all have been there. I just want you to be careful. I love you Bells and I just want the best for you."

"Thanks Dad, I love you too."

"Okay, now don't go making me regret it."

"I won't."

"Alright, see you later."

"Bye."

I smiled as I turned back to my juice.

......................

After I Charlie had left, I made some breakfast and thought about what I had wanted to do for the day. There was only one thing that popped into my head continuously and I gave in. I knew it was something I had to do eventually, but to say I was nervous was putting it lightly.

I went upstairs to get dressed and was a little irritated with my lack of clothes. Everything was either too small, or just uncomfortably smaller. The only clothes that really fit me since my change had been shredded while I was learning to control my phasing. I realized that I must have gotten a little bigger since the first start of the phasing; because the clothes that fit then I couldn't get over my hips. Threw around clothes from all drawers, causing my room too look like a tornado had hit it, and then finally found a pair of pants. It was old pair of my mom's that had somehow been mixed in with my clothes when I moved. They were snug, but they fit. They were two sizes bigger than what I was wearing before which I was a little shocked by. As for shirts, I just wore one of my bigger t-shirts under one of my nicer sweaters. I made a mental note that I really needed to go shopping.

I was definitely nervous by the time I got into my truck. I loved the Cullen's, I knew always would, but I felt horrible for what had happened. The only ones I had talked too about it all was Edward, Emmett and Carlisle, I couldn't be sure how the other's would react and that was what scared me the most. I should have talked to them from the beginning, but I was too much of a chicken to do so. I feared their rejection, which is something I knew I deserved, but in the back of my head, I knew that wasn't what I would get from them. However, I knew our relationships would never go back to the way they used to be. I was now pretty much one of their enemies. I thought over all different reactions they could have on the drive over there.

I think my biggest problem was that even after everything, I was afraid I would lose them. They were my family before the imprint and phasing stuff started and a major part of me felt like I betrayed them. I still loved them and I'm sure they still felt the same way about me, but was it enough? Would they forgive me for just taking off? Would they still consider me part of their family? Did I deserve to be? Was any of that even possible? Those were the questions that ran through my mind repeatedly.

While driving down the long winding road that lead to the Cullen house, my heart beat accelerated to the point I could see my chest pounding with it. As I got closer, I forced myself to get a grip and remain calm, otherwise I was sure they would hear my heartbeat before they even caught my scent, or the sound of my truck.

As I was pulling up to the house, it was really quiet and for a moment I thought I was too late. I heard the faint sound of my old best friends voice and I could have sworn I heard her say, "So you're sure she is strong enough?" That worried and confused me a little, but I took a deep breath and got out of the truck anyways. When I made the turn around the truck, I saw Alice walking out of the front door and walking very slowly towards me. Jasper, Emmett, and Esme were standing on the steps and I could see Edward through the widow. I could have sworn he was smiling.

"H-Hey, Alice," I said as she was still walking slowly up to me. I was a little unsure about her movements. She never walked slowly, even a fast human pace was sometimes hard for her. I was positive that it meant nothing good. I was just about to open my mouth again as she stopped in front of me, but instead I was shocked when I received a quick punch to my right arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" I asked out of reflex, though I was pretty sure I knew the reason.

"No visits, no calls, no nothing. I can't have visions of you anymore and I had no idea what was going on with you. I hated it! You can't just do that to your best friend Bella, it's just mean! I should be furious with you!"

"Alice, I'm… Should be? Does that mean you're not?" I pulled at whatever strings of hope that I had left.

She folded her arms across her chest and looked off to the side of me. "No," she said, pouting.

"Really?" I smiled. "Alice I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to all of you. What I did was wrong and you're right, I shouldn't have done that to my best friend, or my family. I just, I don't know, but it was wrong."

"Yes it was and no I'm not mad, just a little sad," she said, still not looking at me.

I threw myself forward and wrapped my arms around her, almost knocking her down. It wasn't something I was used too.

"Ugh, you stink Bella!"

"Yeah, you don't smell so great either Alice, but deal with it," I laughed and she wrapped her arms around me.

"I missed you Bella, please don't ever do that to me again."

"I won't, as long as you can forgive me, I will never do that to you again."

She pulled back and looked at my face. "Okay, I forgive you." She smiled and tightened her grip on me again.

"C'mon, the other's are anxious to see you!" she said, grapping my and pulling me back into the house. That was the Alice I loved to see.

On the walk over, I was hoping the rest of the Cullen's could be so forgiving

"Oh Bella, it is so good to see you," Esme said as I walked up the steps. She gave a hug and I could tell she was holding her breath.

"It's really good to see you too. I've missed you all so much," I told her. As soon as she let go, Emmett walked over to me, eyeing me with curiosity.

"Hey Bella. Glad you came." He smiled hugely before giving me a hug that I was sure if I was the old Bella, he would have broken me in half.

"Me too. Uh, Emmett?" I was barely able to breathe.

"Yeah?"

"I may be stronger, but I uh, you're crushing me."

"Oh," he laughed. "Sorry." He let go of me with a laugh.

"No problem." I smiled.

My emotions started to get the best of me once I realized they weren't so mad at me. Tears filled my eyes, threatening to spill over, but I fought to keep them back. When Emmett stepped away, Jasper was standing behind him looking at me funny. I couldn't figure out what his expression was, but I just stood there looking at him. I was never really close to him, but I felt I owed him an apology too.

"Hey Jasper," I said, nervous for some reason.

"I'm glad you're here too Bella. There is no reason to be nervous around me. I see you as family just as everyone else does and I missed having you around too."

I smiled, I wasn't sure if giving him a hug was necessary or not, but I did anyways. When I pulled away, he laughed.

"What?"

"Well the good thing is, you no longer have to worry about me wanting your blood," he said, making a face of disgust and then smiled.

"Well that's a relief." I laughed again, no longer nervous.

After we were done, we walked back into the house and I saw Edward leaning against the tailing to the stairs wearing my favorite smile.

"Hello Bella."

"Hi Edward."

I just stood there for a moment with him, both smiling at each other. I still cared about him tremendously and I knew that would never change. You never stop caring about your first love and that was exactly what he was. Thinking, at that moment, about the events that had taken place, I would only change one major thing. I would have changed the way I had dealt with the situation. As soon as I knew what was going, I shouldn't have avoided the truth and letting him know. It was wrong and I would never forgive myself for it. He did deserve better than that, they all did. I also realized, while tearing my eyes away from him and looking at the rest of the family that just because the pack didn't like them, or agree with them, doesn't mean that I had to feel that way too. Also, just because vampires were the reason werewolves existed, doesn't mean I was right in blaming them directly. If it wasn't the Cullens it would have been some nomads that would come around, causing them to phase. Maybe I wouldn't have changed, but well, that was just how life worked. Things would always happen out of my control, it was just a fact in life that I had to deal with.

I was suddenly distracted from my thoughts when Carlisle walked downstairs.

"Hello Bella, it's good to see you."

"Hi Carlisle, it's good to see you too."

Now his reaction was one I was the most nervous about. He seemed to act so differently since the day it had all changed and I had so many questions that I had no idea where or when to start asking them.

"Carlisle, I'm sorr--"

"No apologies needed Bella," he said with a smile. "This whole situation has been hard and confusing. We don't blame you for any of it. There is no one to blame for it." He put his hand on my shoulder and pulled my into a half hug. His words crumbled what little was left of the barrier holding the tears back and they poured out like a broken dam.

"You guys are too forgiving," I said with an odd sound that was a sob mixed with a laugh. "I left you all with no explanation, no, nothing. I just left. You don't do that to your family." I took a deep breath and wiped the tears away. "I have to apologize because I feel horrible for it all. After everything you have done for me, I owed you more than that. Even after the way I treated you, you still helped me with the Volturi. I-I'm sorry. I love you guys and I hope even though I'm not completely who I was before, you will still accept me as a part of your family, or at least a friend."

"Oh of course Bella," Esme said as she pulled me into a hug. "No matter what, you are still a part of this family. We all agree on that. In fact, it was even Edward who brought us all together to make sure of that the other night. You couldn't help becoming what you are now, no more than we could help what we are." She smiled at me and kissed the top of my head.

When I looked around at the family, I saw the smiles on all of their faces and I knew what she had said was right and I couldn't help but smile. It was then that I realized someone was missing.

"Hey, where is Rosalie?"

"Right here," she called as she came downstairs. She looked irritated and I braced myself for the worst. She came to a stop in front of me with her arms folded over her chest, looking me up and down.

"H-Hey Rosalie," I stuttered.

"When are you going to start calling me Rose like the rest of the family?" she asked and I looked at Emmett who had a smile on his face. I could only assume that was a good thing.

"Uh, right now."

"Good." She didn't moved and she kept looking at me. "At least you didn't change too much and it's good that you're a little more durable now." She paused for a minute, looking like she was thinking over something. "Look, I don't hate you Bella, we've been over that, so loosen up. I just don't know what to say about everything. My opinions keep changing so often that I end up just contradicting myself. You know I never approved of you wanting to become one of us and well I guess…" She paused again and sighed. "If that damn mutt, no offense, would have just kept his paws off of you none of this would have even happened."

"Rose?" Edward said, looking a little nervous.

"Hold on damn it, I'm trying to say something, it's just not easy," she told him. She was obviously struggling with whatever she was trying to say. Edward looked slightly amused by it. "Okay, let me try this again. Just because you are with those uh dogs now, doesn't mean you shouldn't keep in contact. I was an idiot and just when I felt like I was finally getting to know you and that I wanted that to happen, you end up having to leave us. I don't want to miss out on that. I still feel like in some way you are my sister and I would very much like it to stay that way."

I was honestly shocked by what she had said. Her accepting me into the family would have been shocking to hear, but that was just… _Wow._

"Really?" I asked once she seemed like she was done.

"Yes, I mean that."

My eyes watered up again and I wanted to hug her but I wasn't sure if I should, more unsure than I was with Jasper. I almost took a step forward, but I stopped myself.

"Oh come here," she said, using her normal tone and reaching her arms out. I pushed myself against her and wrapped my arms around her.

"Thank you Rosal—Rose. That means so much to me."

It was silent for a moment before Alice spoke up.

"Hey so, I wasn't sure if you all would have been up to it before, but now I think it would be a wonderful idea," she told everyone, smiling brightly.

"I agree," Edward said, pushing himself off of the wall and walking closer to us all.

"What is it Alice?" Carlisle asked.

"There's a thunder storm coming in about an hour." She was still smiling and I couldn't help but smile too.

"Awesome!" Emmett yelled, slapping Jasper on the back. "Let's do it."

"Bella, would you like to join us?" Esme asked, with a hopeful look on her face that even if I were to disagree, I would have changed my mind.

"Of course," I said and we all laughed.

"So how hard do you think you can hit the ball now Bella?" Emmett asked as everyone scattered to get ready.

"Hmm… I'm not really sure, but I bet a lot better than before." We both laughed.

Once everyone was ready, we all piled into the vehicles and left to the clearing. When we arrived, I stood in the middle and watched while they got everything all set up. I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face as I looked at them, my family, as they were all enjoying themselves.

While watching them, I was suddenly hit with a wave of memories of everything that had happened since the first time I had been in that spot with them for the exact same reason. It seemed like so long ago. Firs t the encounter with James, Laurent and Victoria, which left me running for my life and in fear of my family's lives. Then several months after that, there was the fight with Victoria and the newborns because of James' death. Not to mention all of the preparations for the fight. It actually seemed like a different lifetime, as if I was watching it through someone else's eyes. I was so sure with every single one of those situations I would never be able to be there enjoying myself the way it was.

"Bella?" Alice called, interrupting my thoughts. "Are you ready?"

"Definitely," I told her, running over to join them.

The game was amazing. The guys fought like always, Rose somehow managed to get hit in the head with the ball and she kicked Emmett's ass for it. I was on a team with Edward, Emmett, and Alice, while Rose, Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper were on the other. They tried to argue a little, but when I had them convinced I was still weaker than them, they settled. I couldn't run as fast as they could, but unless I was willing to burst into a wolf to run bases and play the rest of the game naked, I just had to deal with it. I was still surprised at how well I did. Sure, I could take on a vampire in a fight, but again as wolf, things were much different.

We played for a about an hour and a half until the storm passed through and the game ended with a score that was pretty close. Our team ended up winning. The drive back to the house was a lot louder than the ride there from all of the excitement. Once we were back at the house, we all sat around talking for a little bit, still laughing and having fun, mostly at my expense. Emmett kept trying to find different ways to test my new inhuman abilities. I was just glad he didn't ask me to phase.

Hours seem to pass by too quickly. Once the sun started to dim a light I realized that no matter how badly I wanted to stay, it was about time for me to head home. I had already promised them several times that since they decided to stay for another week; I would definitely be visiting them again.

"You better stick to that promise Bella," Alice told me, glaring at me, which caused me to laugh.

"I promise Alice, I will never stay away from you guys again. If you ever suspect that I might, I give you full permission to hunt me down," I told her.

"You better believe I will do that too."

They all walked me out to my truck as we said our goodbyes. Before I turned to get into my truck, and idea popped into my head and I wasn't sure if I would regret it or not, but I was willing to take that chance.

"Hey Alice, I had a thought about something."

"What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go shopping with me once more before you go."

"Oh my! Bella are you actually volunteering?"

"Yes. I have a feeling I may regret it, but I need new clothes. With the growing and well most of them got shredded too, I'm almost out."

"Of course! You don't have to ask me twice. And I promise, I won't get too carried away, but only cause you volunteered." She smiled and gave me a hug.

"Alright, sounds good to me. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Jake won't mind will he?" she asked a little unsure.

I hadn't thought about that. I was already worried about the conversation we would have about me spending the day with the Cullens, but I was sure he would be okay with it.

"If not he'll get over it," I told her.

"Okay!" she laughed and hugged me once more before running off with the rest of the family.

The whole drive back to my house I had a smile on my face and felt that everything for sure was the way it was supposed to be.

.....................

When I got back to home, I was actually ready for some quiet, but I should have known that wasn't what I was going to get. I caught that delicious scent that I loved so much and smiled as I walked through the house to the living room. I was frozen for a second. I don't know why, but it was nice to see Charlie and Jake watching some sports together.

"You guys hungry?" I asked them as I walked farther into the living room.

"Sure Bells, if you wouldn't mind," Charlie replied.

"Of course I don't. Are you hungry Jake, there's plenty to make?"

He turned his head and smiled at me as he stood up. "Starved. I'll help, if I can." He laughed as he followed me.

Once we were in the kitchen, he surprised me by pinning me to the counter and crushing his lips to mine, completely taking my breath away in the process. He ran his hands along my sides from my hips all the way to my face, not missing a spot. He pulled his lips from my but only long enough to trail firey kisses down my jaw and my neck then back up to my ear. I whimpered softly as his hot breathe made me shiver.

"I missed you," he whispered huskily followed by a soft nibble of my ear.

"I've missed… you too," I replied, still trying to catch my breath.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, staring into my eyes and he smiled again.

"Next time you do something that, can you make sure Charlie isn't home," I groaned, trying to break away from his gaze.

"Maybe, maybe not." He laughed.

I sighed and jabbed my finger into his ribs. He winced lightly while still laughing, but released his hold on me.

"Now let me cook if you're so hungry," I told him as I turned to the fridge to take the chicken.

"Hmm, I don't think what I want should be cooked."

"Huh? What do you want then?" I looked at him confused and he just laughed as he leaned against the counter. Then it hit me. "Oh. Jake!" I laughed along with him after I smacked his arm.

"I couldn't resist." He leaned and kissed me once quickly.

"Of course you couldn't."

"Hey, don't play all innocent with me. I seem to remember you, just yesterday morning in fact, more than willing too--"

"Shut it Jake." I laughed nervously. I had no idea when or if Charlie would come walking in, but I didn't want to risk the closeness and the conversation, just in case.

"Alright, Alright." He smiled at me and I glanced at him, I couldn't help but smile too.

"So, how are the Cullens doing?" he asked, I could tell he actually cared.

"Really good actually. They're moving in about a week."

"Nice. Where too?"

I glanced at him curiously. "They didn't exactly say and I don't think they really know just yet. Possibly New Hampshire, but it's hard to tell."

"Well that's cool."

"Why?" I asked, suspiciously.

"What, I can't just ask?" he laughed. "Well for one, I'm sorry, but I'm glad to see them go. Two, they helped us a lot and they're special to you, so I can't help the tiny part in me that actually cares."

"Hmm.. Well we had fun today. We played baseball and, I'm not sure when, but I'm going to see them again before they leave. I think maybe tomorrow I'm going shopping with Alice, but that was my own fault." I shook my head and laughed.

"Shopping, oh boy." he joked. "I'm sure you will have loads of fun."

"You could always tag along."

"Yeah, no thanks. I'd probably end up killing her. Shopping with girls is torture, but with a vampire type girl, yeah… no."

I looked at him and smiled. I was a little surprised by how easily he talked about the one family that had disgusted him so much before. While I knew that they would probably never get along fully, I was completely happy with the way it was right then. I looked back at the counter and finished putting the chicken in the pan.

"Well, I will let you get back to your cooking."

"Good, cause I think I messed up," I told him, eyeing the pan that was missing something I couldn't think of.

"We can't have that," he said as he kissed my temple and walked back to the living room.

I sighed happily at the silence and thought about the past few days again, but was instantly startled when I heard them cheering loudly in the living room at the sound of their team scoring. I laughed to myself and went back to preparing the food.

* * *

A/N:

A little later than I wanted it to come out, but I was a bit stuck on this one. _No, this is** not** the final chapter._ There is one more after this and that will be the Epilogue.

Wow, it's a little weird having this story come to an end. For the past few months so much has happened, but writing has been the little thing that has always helped me. Rather it was good writing or not, that's up to you. Lol.

I can not say thank you enough to all of you readers and how much I have appreciated you sticking by me through the whole thing. I am so glad that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

So now, what do you think of this chapter? It's a bit longer than most chapters have been lately and I'm pretty sure the epilogue will be just as long or maybe even longer. I just have a few notes on that so far though it shouldn't me too long to write.

Thank you again!


	33. Chapter 33

_A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and not hate it. I'm really nervous about it. I had a little bit of an ending change come to mind and I loved the thought of it. It opens up other options for the story, one I will mention at the very end of the Epilogue. I decided to write one more chapter before the Epilogue. It's already written, just waiting a few days before I post it. The more reviews I get the sooner I will post it. Haha. I also hope it makes sense. I read and reread so many times that it started to blur in my head, so if something doesn't make sense to you just ask.  
_

_So, moving on to the chapter. Again I hope you guys like this..._

* * *

Chapter 33

The past few weeks have been kind of a blur. It was quiet, calm and relaxing, but I didn't remember much of it. I was starting to think that having everything be over and back to normal was having a weird effect on me. Since I moved to Forks, I had never been able to just sit back and not have to worry about something, or someone. It felt… unnatural.

I had just got home from Emily's where we had a nice little dinner with the pack and family members. It was a bright day, something Forks seemed to have more of recently, and it was a very happy time. Most of the family members didn't know what had been going on, but with was clearly visible to them that something had happened and it was over. We were all able to relax, it was nice.

The pack was with their imprints, Charlie was barbecuing with Sam and Billy and Jake was sitting by my side laughing at something stupid Quil had said. I turned my head to see that Emily was waving for me to go into the kitchen, I had volunteered to help make the massive amounts of food for everyone. I lead over and kissed Jake on the cheek, telling him I would be back, before I stood up to walk over to the house.

I stopped halfway as a breeze blew through, scattering my hair across my face. Standing in the middle of the yard, I glanced towards the trees just watching for a moment. Something seemed oddly familiar about the situation. The joining of the family, the movements, the only thing missing was the children and the shadow in the trees. It was very similar to a dream I had had a while back. I sniffed the air cautiously, just in case, but nothing was there. I let out a sigh and smiled. After a minute I felt Jake at my side.

"What is it Bells?"

"Nothing," I said, turning to him and smile grew wider.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely." I kissed him again before making my way into the house.

I helped Emily clean up after dinner. Inside and outside was fully of the loud chatter from the people we cared about. It didn't take long though for people to start clearing out once the sun had started to set. I sat out on the back porch and watched as it fade behind the trees with the breeze blowing gently on my skin. Jake soon came out to see what I was doing and was soon followed by Charlie who was ready to head home since he had work the next day.

I stayed only a few minutes after Charlie had left, making sure the house was back to the way it was before everyone had piled in. I said my goodbyes and walked with Jake out to my truck. The goodbye to him was a tad bit longer, but soon I was so tired I couldn't possibly kiss him any longer. He laughed as I pulled out of the driveway, oddly trying my hardest not to fall asleep at the wheel. It was something I had never had a problem with before.

Charlie was already in bed when I had gotten home. I glance around the house, but couldn't take it anymore, I had to sleep. I was completely exhausted as I walked upstairs towards my bed. My vision was blurring and I wanted so badly to close my eyes. I hadn't done that much, so I wasn't sure what could have been causing the tiredness so strongly. All thoughts of a shower were quickly shoved aside when I reached my bed and plopped down. I stared at the ceiling for all of one second before the sleep took over, sucking me down into the blackness. I saw nothing and heard no one, just pitch black.

Sparks suddenly flowed through my body and flashes like lightening past across the back of my eyelids. It was an odd feeling. My body felt tired, just as it had before I laid down, but I couldn't move. I wasn't even sure I had really fallen asleep yet. I heard the rustling of footsteps in my room and I was startled by it. My body felt strange, different, almost as if it lacked something that I was sure was there before. I listened closely, waiting for a voice to match the two sets of feet that were pacing in my room.

Nothing was spoken, no intakes of breath, just the faint footprints, tapping lightly across the floor with each step. I felt a tightness form in my stomach as my nerves attacked. Who was in my room and why where they there? Finally, I gave in and decided the only way to find out would be to open my eyes. I blinked my lids several times, taking in the dim light from my desk. I took that to mean it was still night and tried to explain to myself that that was why I felt that way. Woken up so quickly after falling asleep.

When I turned my head slightly, it was stiff. The kind of feeling you get when you are lying in one spot for far too long. I groaned a little at the slight pain. At the same time, the pacing came to a halt, for both my unknown visitors and I could suddenly feel them on either side of me. I turned to my right more and tried to find their face in the blurriness of my vision.

"Who's there?" I called out.

"Bella, love, it's just me and Carlisle," his melodic voice was soft and cool in my ear as he spoke so closely.

"Wh-what's going on? Why are you in my room? What time is it?" My voice was rushed as I could feel the panic set in. I tried to sit up, but it was a failed attempt. I felt a cool hand on my left shoulder.

"Calm down Bella, everything is okay." Carlisle's voice was soothing, but it still left me uneasy.

"Can you answer my questions?" I asked as I was getting angry.

"You were asleep for a long time, Bella. I am here with the permission of your father to keep an eye on you and it is about two o'clock in the morning." He smiled nervously.

"I have only been asleep for about five, maybe six hours. What are you talking about?" I tried sitting up again and with the help of Edward, I was able to get halfway up as he helped me lean up against a pillow. My body felt awkward with an intense urge to stretch, but I decided against is.

"Bella, you have been asleep for four days," Edward told me. His words made no sense.

"What? Your playing a joke on me right?"

"No love, we're not."

I looked up to meet Edward's eyes and they looked so worried. I reached up slowly and gently stroked his cheek. The texture of his skin felt odd and I thought for sure I was dreaming.

"Then this has to be a dream," I told him.

"No."

I sighed as I pulled my hand from his face. I hadn't had many dreams where things felt so intense, but I didn't know what to make of it. The last time I touched any part of Edward's skin, it way so uncomfortably cold and I could almost feel the toughness in it. Now, it was just cooler than my own, but so different. _What the hell was going on?_

I laid there, staring straight ahead for a while. I had no idea how long the silence stretched out, but their eyes on me while I was trying to think it through was irritating. Thoughts came in faster as I started questioning everything. I knew there was one person I wanted.

"Where's Jake?" I asked, looking up at Edward. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Jake? Why do you ask?" Again, his words confused me.

"What do you mean why do I ask?"

"He is probably back at home. He hasn't been here since the first day."

"Why?" I thought more to myself, wondering why he wasn't the one by my side waiting for me to wake. I understood Carlisle, he was a doctor and as much as I cared about Edward, Jake should have been there.

"Bella, what are you thinking?" Edward whispered as he dropped to his knees to look at me closer.

"I'm wondering what is going on and why Jake isn't here. Nothing is making sense, not that I don't mind you being here, but me sleeping for four days? It feels like just a few hours since I left La Push, not four days."

"Left La Push? Carlisle?" Edward looked even more worried and confused than before as he looked up at the doctor. It was starting to make the panic worse.

"Bella dear, what is the last thing you remember?" Carlisle spoke gently; worry was clear in his voice.

"Being in La Push with Jake and the rest of the pack. I was cooking with Emily for them and family members. We were all enjoying being able to relax with everyone since everything happened."

I looked back at Edward. He was looking down, brows furrowed in confusion. I looked back up at Carlisle and his hand rested on his chin as he seemed to be deep in thought.

"What's going on?"

"What was everything you say that happened?" Carlisle asked.

"The fight with the Volturi."

They exchanged a glance before both looking at me. I looked back and forth between the two; my heart beat was pounding heavily in my chest. They were looking at me as though I was crazy.

"Do you really think so?" Edward answered Carlisle's unspoken question.

"Will you please tell me what is going on?"

"It seems as though she don't remember anything. Maybe she was dreaming while unconscious and she believes it to be real."

"Dreaming? Whoa, seriously guys, what are you talking about?"

"Bella, you need to tell us exactly what happened. Everything with Jake and the Volturi." Carlisle's voice turned serious.

"But you were all there, why would I need to tell you? I know I messed up with the way I handled things after the newborn fight, but I apologized, I thought it was fixed, at least somewhat." I wasn't sure how that applied, for some reason I was sure they were mad at me after all. How that ended up with me being in my bed and them telling me I was unconscious for four days was beyond me, but everything was so confusing. It was the only thing I could think of.

"So you remember the newborn fight?" Edward asked cautiously.

"Yes."

They exchanged glances again.

"Please tell me what is going on."

"I will tell you as soon as I know, but for right now, I need you to tell me everything you remember from right before the newborn fight. Start with arriving at the tent in the snow." Carlisle slowly sat on the edge of my bed looking at me intently.

"Alright, though I'm not sure how it will help, I will tell you everything." I took a deep breath and started from the moment I arrived at the tent with Jake. I felt nervous about saying it out loud. For some reason, thanks to their reactions since I opened my eyes, I was completely unsure of anything.

Thoughts and questions filled my head. Was it really all a dream? Was I going crazy? Were they lying to me? Did I hit my head and lose my memory? I couldn't think of anything that made any of it seem clear. As I looked back to the past however many weeks it had been since the newborn fight, I realized how hazy it all had been. Some words, thoughts and actions weren't completely clear to me and that worried me a little more.

When I got to the part about the kiss with Jake, Carlisle and Edward looked at each other with confusion. The looks deepened as I moved on with the story. When I got to the parts about leaving to go see Jake, I could see the slight pain in Edward's eyes that I had not thought to check on him, or even talk to him after the fight. I, once again, had no clue what to make of their reactions towards any of it.

As I moved farther into the story, I was actually scared to tell them the part of the legends, but there was no holding back when I got to the part about phasing and attacking Edward. There was something in his eyes at that point that looked like a bit of humor, but it was quickly gone once the shock and pain returned. The sound of the words I spoke of almost killing him sounded foreign to me, leading me to believe more and more that I might not have been real.

I couldn't believe that something I was so sure of could have possibly been a dream. Thinking of it that way alone as a possibility was hard, but thinking that it could be real actually hurt. Could I actually of dreamed of a reality where I had imprinted on Jake because of a legend and became a werewolf? I laughed at the thought, but quickly stopped when I realized I had stopped talking and continued with the part of figuring out the Volturi were coming because of some dream I had had reminded me of their promise.

I watched as their expressions changed with everything part of the story. The shock, worry, sadness and confusion were very plainly seen. There was no masking it, nor did they even try. I supposed they were too focused on my words to pay attention to how they looked. I kept my eyes focused on the blanket at my feet. I knew their expression would affect my story and I probably wouldn't be able to finish, but I soon learned I needed to finish. I needed to know what happened just as badly as they did, if not more. I feared that my sanity was truly at risk there.

I could hear tick on Carlisle's watch as I spoke of the events that may or may not have taken place in the last few weeks. The only other noise in the room was my voice as they stared silently at me, watching my every move and focusing on my every word. As I grew closer the end of the battle, I felt slightly nauseous. The looks on their faces said the truth, the truth I suddenly feared more than anything. It never really happened.

I finished up the story, going up to the point when I had come home and gone straight to bed. I told them of how tired I was and collapsed into my bed, after barely making it up the stairs. I also mentioned how those last few days had gone by in a blur and now everything felt that way. Carlisle nodded his head as I told him that was when I woke up here.

"That makes sense," he said. "Your body was trying to wake you up, so in your dream, you were suddenly weak. That's the only way I can think of explaining it. It was taking you out of that _strange_ world your mind created. It would also explain why you are so exhausted now, that took a lot out of you."

I felt my chest tighten and my throat thicken as tears filled my eyes.

"So… so none of that was real?" I looked between Carlisle and Edward quickly.

"No dear, I'm afraid not," Carlisle told me as he gently took my hand, startling me.

"What if… What if this is a dream. If that could have so easily been a dream, then why can't this? If feels as equally real as the other. It makes no sense. Why in the hell would I dream something like that?"

"From the little I know of dreams, it could mean several things. I know a bit about the relationship between you and Jacob Black and maybe your dream was allowing you to explore other options. Why you went in such great detail on the supernatural terms of the dream is a bit odd, but has me very curious. I will have to look into it more to give you a better detail on it.

"In my opinion though, combining the two, maybe it means that, being surrounded by us mythical creatures has taken more of a toll on you than you knew. Either direction you chose, rather it be Jacob, or Edward, you would remain human and age, at least based on decisions, while neither of them would. Jacob could if he chose, but I think you know that that would have been a bit difficult for him, giving the true nature of who and what he is. So that being said, perhaps your imagination found a way to make you a_ werewolf_ to explore options of you choosing him and truly being equal.

"I know that is something you think about often. Being equal with the ones you love, but making the correct choice. It's only natural for you to wonder what a life in the other direction could be like. Just like I'm sure that Edward has thought about what his life would be like if he had never met you. I know it would it would be a very boring one for us all," he paused to laugh for a moment and Edward just shook his head. "It is natural to be curious and there is nothing wrong with it."

"To imagine it so vividly, Carlisle, what's normal about that? To imagine being in loved, being happy and living a whole different life with another? That is normal? To wake up from being unconscious to being disappointed and sad that that life is gone is normal?" I couldn't stop the tears the rolled down my cheek as I silent cried and wondered what the hell was wrong with me. "It isn't normal to be so confused about either direction in life. If it is, than I wish I could just to back to not being normal and have the direction be clear to me."

"It doesn't work that way Bella."

"But it doesn't make hurting the ones I love and care about right either." I took a deep breath trying to calm myself, but one look at Edward ruined whatever resolve I had. "What does that mean though? Does this change how I feel? Right now I can't feel anything but anger and confusion. I hate this."I buried my face in my hands and cried harder than before.

"Bella it takes time. I promise, no one will judge you on your decision, either one that may be. You can take all the time you need."

"I don't have time, Carlisle."

"You have as much time as you are willing to give yourself," Edward said, speaking for the first time since I had finished telling the story.

I sat back with my arms folded across my chest and looked down at my arms. Why did it happen like this? Could I really believe that it was all a dream? My heart broke at the thought of it not being real. Not because of the dream itself, but actually breaking half, make my confusion stronger. Each new half belonged to two men who did not deserve the girl that I was.

The silence was deafening in the room as they each were lost in their own thoughts. I wanted so badly to be alone, but feared it even more. As I stole a glance at Edward, my heart throbbed even more. The sight of him mad my blood boil. He was the one I loved first and, from what I had believed, loved the most. Jake however was something so much more to me than I had intended. The dream may not have been real, the situation between us may have been made up, but my feelings for him weren't.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to laugh. Believing that I could have in fact become a wolf was ridiculous. I shook my head at the thought.

I realized that in order to face my confusion, I had to see Jake. I had to see if the feelings were in my head, or if they were as strong as they had felt in my dream. I glanced at the clock and it was just turning six o'clock. I pushed back the blankets and stretched my legs before I moved them to the side of the bed.

"Bella, what are you doing?" Edward asked as I tried to stand.

"I need to see Jake."

=XxX=

It took some convincing, but Edward and Carlisle finally let me leave the house after Charlie went to work. I let him believe that I was still asleep. I didn't want to have to explain it to him; I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. It was bad enough that Carlisle felt the need to tell me what it was that caused me to slip into the little coma. Hypothermia sucked. And knowing that Jake had held me the entire time during the battle made it seem like the dream made more sense. I dreamt of him as he held me and I got lost in there somewhere.

I pulled up in La Push at eight in the morning. I wasn't sure if he would be awake, but I couldn't wait any longer. I took the last steps to his door and knocked lightly. I was greeted by a shocked Billy, who apparently thought I was still stuck in sleep. I told him I had woken up a few hours before and I had a few questions for Jake. He was a bit hesitant, but as Jake came walking out of his room, he really had no choice.

Jake was more surprised to see me than Billy was. He practically ran across the room and lifted me up into his arms and swung me around, mumbling things I couldn't understand. He set me back down on my feet and I stumbled a little causing him to laugh.

"You're okay! I was so worried, Bells." The smile on his face was bright and contagious.

"Yeah I'm okay. I think anyways."

His smile dimmed a little at my words and I hated that I had spoken them. He looked up at me and when I turned away, he lifted my chin up with his finger.

"What? What is it?"

"Do you think we could talk?" I scratched my head as I pointed out the door. "I just… Something on my mind I want to discuss with you."

"Uh, okay. Sure." He told his dad that he would be back and followed me outside. He led me to the pathway that led to the beach and we walked along the shoreline. A blurry flashback to my dream sent a shiver down my spine. I had to remind myself that it was in fact a dream.

"Okay, what is it Bella? What's wrong? Did that-"

"Everything is okay," I assured him, but it didn't remove the unsure look in his eyes. "While I was asleep, if you could call it that, I had this crazy, but very realistic dream. It felt so real, when I woke up I was sure that I was a dreaming waking up." I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts so I could speak clearly.

"What was the dream?" he asked.

"It's pretty crazy, even for me." I laughed as I looked down at the sand.

"I want to hear all about it."

I took a deep breath and did just as I had with Edward and Carlisle, I started before the newborn fight. Once I Was finished, we were sitting on a fallen tree just outside of the forest. He was completely silent as he stared out into the waves, laughing only once, but then returning serious again. I picked at my finger nails, a loose string on my jacket and chewed on my bottom lip so badly I had actually made it bleed. He looked at me finally, but didn't speak at first.

"Seriously?" he asked, with his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah." I laughed, wondering why I would make that up. Then I laughed again, realizing that is was all made up.

"That is a pretty crazy dream," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, staring back out at the waves.

I sighed. "Yeah."

"How do you feel about it? I mean, have your feelings changed any?"

"Yes… No… Maybe? I'm not sure. I get the same feeling when I look at Edward from before and close to the same feeling when I look at you as I had in the dream. It's kind equal between you two right now. My thoughts are all jumbled up though. Carlisle thinks it was just a way for me to explore my options, real or not, but I can't really see that."

"Yeah, I kind of agree with him, believe it or not, but the imprinting, becoming a wolf and taking on those vampires. It's pretty unreal. Don't get me wrong, if it could actually happen, I would love for it to happen. I would love anything that involved you in my life Bells and I would do anything to get you there." He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.

I wanted to speak, but I didn't know how. I didn't know what to say, what I was supposed to say. I just stared.

"You really think he would handle it that easily if you picked me?" he said with a laugh. I pulled my hand that was still in his away and smacked his arm playfully.

"I have no idea."

"We could find out, you know." I laughed, but stopped when I seen that he was serious.

"Jake, I think I need to take some time to figure this out. This makes it harder than before. While I'm sure that I still want Edward, a part of me is telling me that it's not the same anymore. It all makes me realize even more that it wasn't anything more than a dream, the easiness of it. It's so confusing and complicated. My choice isn't so easy now. When before I knew picking him was right, I'm not so sure. Part of me is just telling me to run for the hills and never look back."

"Maybe that is what you should do."

I looked at him, shocked. "What?"

"Okay, maybe not go and never look back, but get away for a while. Take some time for yourself, discover what you want. Bella, I don't want to rush you. As I said before, I would give anything to have you in my life, but not at the chance you would regret it later, or maybe question yourself with what-ifs. It has to be well thought out and sure."

I thought about that seriously for a moment.

Getting away wouldn't be a bad idea.

* * *

_A/N: What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Please let me know. As I may have mentioned before, or at least on twitter, I have had a problem with an ending for this. That is what took so long to post again. I kept thinking like crazy, but coming up with nothing. The night before last, I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep when I thought of this. I really like the idea and once I started writing, I started thinking more._

_I'm really curious to hear what you guys think of it becoming a dream, so please let me know!_

_Reviews of any kind make me happy!_


	34. Chapter 34

The last chapter was supposed to be a few weeks later in the story, not a few days. I went back and fixed it so this would make more sense.

Hope you guys aren't too angry with the twist from last chapter, but I promise things won't seem so bad after this. At least I hope not anyways.

I am actually more nervous for this chapter than the last with all the shocked and unsure reviews I got.

I can't believe this is the last chapter! It's crazy thinking of all the time I have spent writing this and now it's finally done. I love you all and just want to thank you again for reading my story. I hope the ending don't disappoint.

Also, I was thinking of the possibility of a sequel and was actually planning on one, but what I was thinking was pointless. Actually, plotless. If you guys really want a sequel, toss some ideas my way because I'm drawing a blank and I'll see what I can do.

Well, no use in rambling anymore. Here it is. The final chapter...

_

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_

Epilogue

It was freaky to say the least, which is actually funny considering everything I have been through. My dreams have always been vivid. It's what made the nightmares so horrible, but this? It shouldn't have been a surprise really, but it was ridiculous. I knew Jake thought I was crazy. The entire thing was odd, but I think everyone has experienced _something_ like that at one point in their lives. Dreams you think are real, then when you are finally convinced that's what they are, you find out there not…

Maybe I should explain.

The whole thing made no sense, but at the same time it did. It was all pretty unreal, but that was just how my life went after moving to this rainy little town.

Here is how the rest of it went. I'll fill in the blanks later.

_I was boarding the plane from Jacksonville, on my way back to Forks. I had a decision to make. One that was obvious… to me anyways. I had gone to visit my mom and stayed there about two weeks to help clear my mind. It took one of those weeks to decide and an additional week to make sure. I was returning home to him. _

_I was thinking back to the day I decided to leave. Edward was unsure about me going, but gave in agreeing that it was a wise decision and he supported me. He even paid for my trip. Of course I tried to fight it, but it was a pointless battle, so I dealt with it. _

_Charlie was a different case_. _He feared that I wouldn't return, that something had happened and I was running away from him again, but I assured him that wasn't what was happening and promised to return. My home was in Forks, no matter who I chose to share my life with. He agreed, but I can tell it was only because he didn't want to push me and that he was just happy that I was okay when I woke up. I had really hurt him in the past with all my taking off on him._

_He was there at the airport to pick me up. His relieved, loving smile was something that made me even happier to be home. _

_Once we pulled up to the house, I was truly happy to be back. I loved my mother, but I was glad every day that I made the decision to move to Forks. No matter how screwed up everything was since the first day at school. I walked straight up the stairs and went into my room and started unpacking my bags. _

_When I finished, I sat at the edge of my bed and stared at the window, the floor, the walls and my bed. Memories floated in my mind as everything I looked at reminded me of something. The first time Edward had climbed through my window, that first kiss and all the times he stayed the night with me, holding me while I slept. I took a deep breath and smiled at the calmness I felt. I knew I was making the right decision. _

_Only one name, one voice and one face followed with me every day. The one I would be returning home too. I pushed myself off the bed and made my way to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror to make sure I didn't look too horrible after my flight. I ran the brush through my hair and then ran downstairs, telling Charlie I would be home for dinner._

_It was in the middle of the afternoon and dark clouds were a nice welcome home, as was the sound of my truck chugging its way slowly down the road to his house. I was confident. I couldn't only hope he would take the news well. Though I was sure I was making the right decision, I still felt horrible. How could I not after fighting the love triangle I had created with two amazing guys? When I made my way to the house finally, he was standing outside waiting for me. I took one glance at him before moving out of my truck. He knew._

_I walked up to him and he wrapped his arms around me gently. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. I reached up and cupped his cheek in my hand and stared into his eyes, memorizing his face. I would always want to remember the times I had shared with him and the ways he made me feel. He would always be special to me._

"_Your mind is set," he whispered into my wrist._

"_Yes."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes." My voice was softer than before as I watched him close his eyes and simply nod._

_He removed my hand from his face and kissed it as he held it in both of his._

"_Will you keep in touch?"_

"_If that's what you want."_

"_Believe it or not, I do. I want nothing more than to see how your life will change." His voice was sad, but could tell he had accepted it long before I had arrived._

"_Then I will give you that. How will the others take the news?"_

"_They will be fine. I promise."_

"_Should I say goodbye?"_

"_There not home. They left to give us time alone."_

_I nodded as I looked down. I didn't know if I would be able to return or not. I didn't think I was strong enough for that._

"_They will understand," he said._

"_What if I call?"_

"_They would love that."_

_He smiled at me as he leaned in and kissed my cheek softly._

_I stayed for a little over fifteen minutes saying my goodbye. I didn't want to overstay, didn't want to hurt him more than was necessary. When I got back into my truck and drove away, I didn't try to hold back the tears that fell. The last words he spoke, floated around in my head as I smiled._

"_Be happy, Bella. Live a long and happy life. I am always here if you need me." _

_The words were familiar, making it odd once again that it had all been a dream. I would miss him, all of them, so much, but what I was doing was right. I knew that more than anything else._

_It was about three when I arrived at my next destination, the one I had been anxious to arrive at since I boarded the plane in Jacksonville. He too was waiting for me outside. My old beat up truck never failed to announce my arrival._

_I didn't waste any time getting out of the truck as I ran up into is waiting arms._

"_Is this good?" he asked, hope filling his voice._

_I nodded at him as I leaned into kiss him. When I pulled away he spoke again._

"_You're sure?"_

"_More than anything."_

_He picked me up, gripping me tightly and kissed me harder than before._

"_How will you… What if… Damn."_

_I laughed. "What?"_

"_Honestly, though I hoped, I didn't expect this."_

"_Oh Jake, you should really be more confident in yourself." I laughed again._

"_It's just that, I don't know. How will he take it?"_

"_He took it fine."_

"_You told him already?"_

"_I just left there. He already knew."_

"_Uh huh. Whoa. Really?"_

"_Yes."_

_The happiness in his eyes made my heart melt. It made me feel whole again. My heart was no longer broken, but healed and swelled with the love I had for Jake. I had thought about my choice entirely too much when I first arrived to Jacksonville and once I finally stopped and just let myself enjoy my time with Renee, the one I that always came to mind was Jake. That was what finally let me know._

_I didn't look too much into the dream, that wasn't what I allowed to make my decision, partially because I was still having hard time believing it. The dream just helped me realize what my other option was, wrong as it was, but still the same. I found myself questioning if I really wanted eternity with Edward more than the question of did I really love Jacob enough. The answer was as plain as anything, I did. _

_Edward did handle it better than I had planned, but I had to admit I was hoping Alice's visions would help me a little. If my future was gone, then they knew what that meant. I made sure that I said my goodbyes to Edward better than I had in the dream. That really was the one regret I had in it and I wanted to make sure that wasn't what I regretted in reality. I regretted nothing. I was truly happy with the way things turned out._

_The rest of the day with Jake was spent basically enjoying my return with him, watching movies and being close. Once I arrived back home, cooked and cleaned up dinner, I decided that I would call the Cullen house as I had told Edward I would. I talked to everyone individually. They were all sad to hear the news, but happy that I would still keep in touch. I made plans to visit them after they got settled into their new home, which they would be headed too soon. It was a good phone call and sad. I would miss them all so very much._

_As I walked upstairs too my bedroom to go to sleep, I laid down in my bed and stared at my ceiling. I thought of everything and how things turned out. I thought about the past, the present and the future. I looked forward to sharing my life with Jake and everything that came along with it. I didn't fantasize about plans and events that could take place, I just wanted to live and let it things happen._

_As for Jake's phasing, he decided that he would stick to it for a little while longer. He wasn't sure if it was safe enough to stop yet and I was okay with that. It would be a while before I got to looking too much older than him and he needed to do his job for the tribe. It was one of those things that I would deal with when the time came. For right then, I was satisfied with the way things were._

_Lost in thoughts, I started falling asleep when I heard a tapping on my window. Curiously, I got up and walked over and opened it, smiling as I slowly backed up to let my visitor in._

"_Jake? What are you doing here?" I laughed quietly._

"_I just wanted to say goodnight."_

_He pulled me into his arms and I held onto him, my arms wrapping around him as tight as I could. His scent and his warmth relaxing me completely and grew even more tired than before._

"_Can I stay for a while?" he asked, nervously as he pulled back a little._

"_Sure."_

"_As cheesy as it sounds, I just wanted to hold you for a while." He laughed as he led me over to my bed._

_I smiled at him as he pulled my blankets back father for me to get in. Once I was lying down, he tucked the blankets in on one side and walked over to get in on the other side. He pulled me close and I rested my head on his chest as I closed my eyes and let out a sigh in comfort._

"_I love this," I said, snuggling deeper into him. I could feel, rather than hear, his laugh as it vibrated through his body._

"_And I love you." His voice was suddenly serious and I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. _

_I looked up at him, gazing into his eyes and I could see the love in them as always. I smiled and leaned into to kiss him softly, but quickly before pressing my face back into his shirtless chest._

"_I love you, too."_

_I could feel him relax under me and I hadn't realized that he was even tense._

"_You know, I was thinking about something before you came home. Then I thought about it again before I came here tonight."_

"_What?" I yawned._

"_The whole imprinting thing."_

_My body froze, even holding my breath. Imprinting. That was not something I hadn't really thought about, well not in the sense that it didn't involve me anyways. What if…_

"_Maybe we could be," he continued and I let out a gust of air. _

"_Really? How? I mean, I'm not sure how all that works exactly, but doesn't it happen when you see the person right after you phase?"_

"_Well usually yeah, but what if your imprint in someone you've known all your life and have always loved. How would you know the difference?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_When I hear about the guys and their imprints, I think of you. I feel the same. It hurts to be away from you and my world is you." I smiled at his words. If that were the case, it would be nice to not have to worry about the possibility of losing him in the future. "It is impossible to put into words the way feel and have always felt about you. The pack doesn't quite agree, but they also admit they could be wrong. They of course know how I feel; they see it in my mind. They agree to the similarities. It is one thing I have never had to question, not since I was young. I have always been in love with you, Bella. No one could change that."_

_I felt a tear roll down my cheek and fall onto his chest. He wrapped both arms around me and tightened them, pulling me closer into him. I had trouble breathing, but not because he was crushing me, but because of his words, the way he felt. I felt it. My heart throbbed in my chest as I tried to find the words to say, but my voice wouldn't work. Not that I was sure of what to say anyways. He loosened his grip on me a little and kissed the top of my head._

"_I don't expect you to say anything, Bells. I just wanted to get that off my mind." I nodded my head. _

_He reached one hand to my face as he wiped away the remaining tears._

"_I love you, Jake," I said into his chest. It was the only think I could say. "Nothing can change that either."_

_He slowly stroked the back of my head, while his other arm remained wrapped around me tightly. It didn't take long for me to fall to sleep._

-x-_  
_

And here is where the bigger twist comes in.

I fucking woke up. Again.

Everything was different. Again.

But yet, it was the same…

-x-

When morning came, I opened my eyes expecting Jake to be by my side, which he was, but not the way I had thought he'd be.

My breathing was heavy, my eyes bugging out of my head and I was still so very tired. My first thought was, what the hell is wrong with me? I flew up into a sitting position, eyes flying all over my room which was different in a way. I just couldn't place how. I turned to my right to see Jake sitting on the edge of my bed, with a t-shirt and jeans on. Just as wide eyed as I felt I was.

"Bells, honey, are you okay?" he asked, trying not to laugh. I could only imagine how I had looked.

"What is today?" I asked him, rubbing my palms into my face.

"September thirteenth."

I ran the day through my brain, trying to figure out if the day matched any of the days in my dream and only ended up hurting myself when I rubbed my eyes a little too hard.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Uh yeah…. No. No, I'm not."

"What's wrong? You seemed like you were having a bad dream."

"Horrible, horrible dream… I think. Damn it!"

"Bella?"

"Um, what happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean? We had dinner at Sam and Ems? You came home early because you were tired. What's going on?"

"Dinner… At Sam and Emily's?"

"Yes." His face was expressionless, but his eyes were wide with panic.

I looked down at myself, pulling the blanket off of me and stood up. I twirled a little, checking myself. Jake laughed, but it was nervous sounding. I ran into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. I was a little bigger than I was. I flexed my arm and there were actual visible muscles. My hair was long as always, pulled up into a messy ponytail. My clothing clung to my body. I made another turn, looking at my backside before I went into the bedroom with only one thought. _I look the same as I had before…_

"Bella, you wanna tell be what's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

"We fought the Volturi?"

"Um… yeah. It was little over a month ago."

"The Cullens are gone?"

"Yes."

"What. The. Fuck."

"Bella?"

I plopped down onto my bed next to Jake and leaned my head against his chest. I couldn't be sure what was real and what wasn't. I once again cursed my poor, but vivid imagination. Could I have dreamt that it was all a dream, when it was in fact not? I laughed at the thought.

"Bella you're kind scaring me."

"Join the club." I looked up at him to see him staring at me. He must have thought I'd finally lost it. I shook my head, still laughing. "I just had one crazy, but very realistic dream."

"What was it about?"

"I dreamt that I woke up and Carlisle and Edward were in my room. They were telling me that I had basically gone into a coma during the newborn fight. You couldn't save me from the hypothermia and I got lost in my mind. I had dreamed the imprinting, the becoming a wolf and the fight with the Volturi. Not only that, but that I had to make a decision between you and Edward again. I took a trip to Jacksonville to visit my mom to clear my head, your idea, and came back to tell you decision."

Jake started at me, wide eyed again and trying to laugh.

"Who'd you chose?" he asked instantly.

"You of course, but still. The whole damn thing was a dream. It felt so real. I had finally been convinced that our life now was a dream and then now I see that that was a dream. God, I hope this isn't a dream. That might officially put me in the loony bin." I laughed. I was very confused still.

"That real huh?"

"Yeah, I could feel everything and it was all so bright and just so… Real. No other way to explain it besides it just felt real."

"Damn. That is crazy."

"Tell me about it." I sighed and leaned back into him.

"Well, I can tell you that this, us, all of this, is definitely real."

"Well I sure hope so."

"Got any plans for the day?" he asked, with a tone I couldn't place. When I looked up at him he tried to hide his smile, but failed.

"Nope. I don't remember if I did or not actually. I'm still kind of stunned over that dream. Why? What do you have planned?"

He just laughed.

"What are you up too?"

"Why did you ask me the date?"

"Uh, to see if it fit either of the dates that I was thinking of. My dream was back in like June."

"Ah."

"What?"

"You have no idea what today is?"

"Yeah, you told me. September thirtee… Oh shit."

He laughed harder. "I have never met someone who could forget their birthday so easily."

"I usually hate my birthdays, so it's easy really. Unless I have someone annoyingly planning a party for me. Then it's kind of hard to forget… Jake why are you looking at me like that? What do you have planned?"

I stood up and looked at him with my arms folded across my chest. He just continued to laugh.

"Take a shower and get dressed."

"Why?"

"Just do it. I have to head back home, but when you're done, call Leah."

"Jake," I whined. "Wait, Leah?"

"Uh yeah, she said something about talking to you. I don't know."

"Uh, okay…"

"Alright, I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Sure." My head was spinning. First the dream, now something involving Leah, not to mention it was my birthday and Jake was up to something. I glanced at my bed wondering if I could get away with just sleeping all day.

Jake caught me and laughed. "Don't even think about it."

I groaned as I walked over to my dresser to pull out a pair of clothes. Thanks to Alice's help, I had plenty. Jake met me as I stood straight again and kissed me.

"Love you."

"I love you too. Even though you're a pain in my ass."

He laughed and walked towards out my bedroom then yelled, "Happy Birthday" just before he made it down the stairs.

I slammed my dresser drawer shut, hearing a cracking noise before making a growling sound as I headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the day from hell known as my birthday.

Once in the shower, I let myself think more. I realness of it all was mind boggling. I got a headache within the first minute of trying to make sense of it all. It was a dream. I dreamt that my life of imprinting and becoming a werewolf was a dream. Putting it into words was hard, making sense of it inside my mess of a brain was even harder. I was just relieved that this life was real. Except for the birthday part.

_Too bad I couldn't just dream this day away_, I thought.

I let the extremely hot water wash away the stress that waking in a panic always caused. It was my nineteenth birthday and would be spending the day with Jake. _And Leah?_ I sighed. Trying to convince myself that the day wouldn't be miserable was useless.

I thought of what Leah could want. Sure we got along, but it was still odd. The only connection we really had was being female werewolves and dealing with the issues that came along. I couldn't think of one thing that she could want to talk to me about and why she had Jake tell me to call her. The water ran cold and stopped me from thinking on it anymore. I would just have to call her and find out.

Once I towel dried and got dressed, I blow dried my hair to straighten it some. I wore my normal style of clothing, which was actually a surprise since Alice never let me wear just jeans and t-shirts. I had actually won a fight with her for once. I thought though that maybe she was just giving into me because they were leaving, but I was still happy that it was what I wanted. I did though let her pick out some fancier clothes. Who knows if an occasion would come up? I laughed at the memory.

Once I was dressed and downstairs, I paced the kitchen, stalling my phone call. I kept looking at the clock; it was almost one in the afternoon. I couldn't believe that I had slept so late.

When two minutes felt like an hour, I finally gave in and picked up the receiver, dialing the number Jake had written on a piece of paper and left on the counter. It rang only twice before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, uh, Leah. It's Bella. Jake said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, hey. Yeah, are you busy?"

"Um, no…"

"You think I could come over? There was something I wanted to talk about."

"Uh, sure. What's up?"

"I'll tell you when I get there. I'm leaving right now."

"Okay."

And she hung up.

It was weird. I had no more information than I had had in the shower. She wanted to _talk._ I decided to make myself something to eat while I was waiting. Just as I sat down at the table to eat my sandwich, I heard a car pull into the driveway. I got up and opened the front door just as she was walking up.

"Hey," she said with a smile. I raised a brow at her. Her actions were confusing me even more.

"Hi. Come in."

"So, happy birthday. Jake said I shouldn't mention it, but when do I ever listen to him." She laughed.

"Ah, yeah. Thanks. Um, I was just getting ready to eat. Would you like something?" I asked. She was making me nervous.

"No thanks, I ate just before you called."

We walked into the kitchen and I sat back down at the table as she sat across from me.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Well…" She suddenly looked nervous. It didn't help me any. "I was wondering, how much longer were you and Jake planning on continuing phasing?"

_Huh?_ "Um, I'm not sure. We haven't talked about much. Why?"

"I was just curious."

"Not that I don't mind the company, but uh… Why didn't you just ask me that later? I'm sure I'll be on the rez at some point today, I usually am."

"Yeah, I know. Just so many nosey boys around."

"Ah. Is there more to the question?"

"Not really."

"Right."

It was odd. I couldn't think of anything else to say. Her odd question truly baffled me.

"Well, it was just curious about your theory. You know, with us and the phasing. I was curious because, you're imprinted and in love and all that junk. Me, well, I don't plan on ever finding anyone that the option might come up. And honestly, I don't really want to risk taking the chance just to find out I can't."

"The having children thing?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, well… Um. I don't know. I haven't thought about it much. I don't really plan on having kids anytime soon, so even if I was to stop phasing and go back to normal, I wouldn't really want to put that theory to test right away. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah I get that. It was just a thought of mine that brought a question. I don't mean to pry into your business."

"I don't mind. Knowing how you have felt about the whole thing, I would expect you to still be curious."

"I wonder if there's a time limit on the whole thing. Like, you have to stop phasing in a certain amount of time or your body will be stuck that way."

I laughed. "Leah, I don't think it works like that. At least I hope not anyways."

"Yeah, that would uh, suck. Well anyways. I don't want to take up anymore of your time." She looked away and I could tell there was something else. Suddenly something l clicked into place.

"Leah?"

"Yeah?" She asked as her head snapped back into my direction.

"Jake had you come and distract me didn't he?"

She laughed nervously and started fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

I stood up, pushing the chair back. I didn't know whether to laugh, or be mad.

"Ugh, that sneaky little-"

"Bella, you know I'm not really into all this kind of crap and definitely not usually up to helping him with anything really. He's trying to keep it light, but just wants the day to be special for you. He's been trying to plan something perfect for you."

I looked at her and I have no idea what she could see on my face, but I was shocked and confused.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why?"

"You're helping him. You're putting up with Jake, to help me. Not only that, but you are defending him."

"Okay, so that does sound a little crazy."

"A little." I laughed as I put my plate in the sink and stood behind my chair.

"Okay so a lot. Believe it or not, I've come too actually like you. You turned out to not be such a bad person. Not to mention you gave me some hope on something I had given up and now I don't see it as such a curse." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I actually see you as a, uh, friend."

"Really?" I asked, shocked once again.

"Yeah. I don't like many girls, never really have, but you're not like other girls. I can't really talk to the friends I did have, and you remind me of them."

"Well, thank you."

"Yeah, but don't expect me to be all warm and fuzzy. This was as close as I can come to it without being nauseated."

We both laughed as walked into the living room. She told me about how she has actually gotten over the situation with Sam a little more and doesn't want to torture him anymore like she was before. She said she isn't ready to move on and find someone because she doesn't want to hurt them like she was hurt, but she won't be phasing forever and that thought left open options. For once since the break up with Sam, she is finally content with her life. It was nice to see her smile.

We decided to watch something on TV while we waited for the call from Jake. We laughed at the stupid women on the reality show and talked about how thankful we were that our lives weren't that bad. We both agreed that fighting vampires was better than the overly dramatic lives they created for themselves. It was nice and we had more in common than we had thought.

Finally Jake's all came and I was nervous about heading to La Push for once. More nervous than that time on the beach. This time I knew he was planning something. The rid with Leah was silent and I could tell she was trying her hardest not to laugh at me.

When we pulled up on the rez, Embry was standing outside of Jake's house. He started smiling when he saw me.

"So I heard you had a crazy ass dream last night," he said with a laugh as I got out of the car.

"Yeah, shut up." I punched him in the arm and he winced.

"I just think it finally confirms your crazy."

"Yeah, maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Do you really want to find out?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Eh, no not really." He laughed as he took off running.

"That's what I thought," I yelled, knowing he could hear me even thought I couldn't see him anymore.

I turned back towards Leah and stuck my head through the window. "So uh, thanks for coming over and for the ride." My voice was full of my nervousness as I glanced at the clock at her dashboard. It was just passed four pm.

"No problem. Have_ fun_." She laughed and pulled out of the driveway.

I took a deep breath as I walked up to Jake's house. I was just reaching my hand up to knock when he opened the door.

"You don't have to knock you know," he said with a smile before hugging me.

"Uh okay," I mumbled.

"You're nervous." He laughed as he hugged me tighter.

"I never know what to expect with you anymore."

"Is that good or bad?" he asked, pulling back a little.

"I don't really know."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house. Two steps in and my nose was assaulted with something coming from the kitchen. I looked at him curiously as he smiled again.

"I know you don't like anything big, or surprises, so I picked something in between. I cooked you dinner."

"You what?"

"Don't seem so surprised." I shook my head at him.

He led me to the kitchen table and I could feel my eyes widen as my mouth dropped. The room was darker than normal for daytime. The table had a dark red table cloth, with a small bouquet of beautiful flowers in the middle. Two candle sticks were lit, on each side of the flowers. There were two plates on each side of the table, with forks on each side on top of napkins. There were glasses on the other sides of the plates with a bottle of what looked like wine sitting next to it.

The CD player from the beach was sitting on the kitchen counter, paying a beautiful melody that flowed through the air softly. I looked further into the kitchen and saw that the counter had a couple of bowls and dishes of food on it. The stove was full of pans and I could see something that looked like sauce splashed on it. Whatever he had cooked smelt amazing.

I felt a tugging on my hand and I realized I had frozen in place at the sight of it all. I looked back up at him and his expression was almost worried. I was about to speak, but he brought a finger up to my mouth for me to stop. I did as he wanted and he pulled me over to the table. He pulled out my chair and I sat down as he helped me scoot the chair forward a little. He walked to the counter and came back with a basket of breadsticks.

"I hope you're hungry," he said.

"Uh, yes." I couldn't form any other words. The day seemed to be one shock after another.

He just smiled as he moved into the kitchen and came back with a bowel and a spoon. He slowly dished out some spaghetti onto my plate. It actually looked as good as it smelt, which once again was amazing. He caught me eyeing it.

"Hope this is okay. He was easy enough for me to make." He laughed. "As I'm sure you know I'm not as great as cook as you are, so I hope you will enjoy this."

"Well if it tastes as good as it smells, we'll have no problems."

I reached up and grabbed his shirt at the chest and pulled him down so I could kiss him. He almost dropped the bowl of food, so I let him go and couldn't hold in the giggle. He walked over and scooped some onto his plate then put the bowl back into the kitchen and came back. He picked up the bottle of wine, with was already open, and poured some into my glass.

"Wine?" I asked. Though I wasn't s drinker, I had had wine once or twice with Renee. I was sort of shocked to see him with a bottle.

"Emily recommended it." He shrugged.

"Ah." I nodded my head and picked up the glass once he was done and took a sip. It was actually good, with a nice sweet taste too it.

He poured himself a glass and then sat down. I could feel his eyes on me as I looked down at the plate of food. My stomach growled as I took once last smell of it. I picked up my fork and slowly swirled some of the noodles on it and took a bit. I was completely shocked that it actually tasted good. _You really gotta start giving him some more credit,_ I told myself.

"Oh wow Jake, this tastes amazing. All of this is amazing."

"Really? So you're not mad?"

"No. I couldn't be even if I wanted too. It's really sweet."

"I'm glad you like it. I just wanted to show you that not all birthdays are bad and that there are ways of celebrating that aren't too extreme."

"Thank you."

The rest of dinner had light conversation. We talked a little bit about my conversation with Leah, which he was surprised to hear about just as much as I was when I heard her say the words. We talked a little bit about how he came up with the idea for dinner. By the time we were almost done, I could tell there was something else still on his mind. He was still acting nervous. I waited until the food was gone and I had finished all of my glass of wine before I mentioned it.

"Jake are you okay? You seem a little nervous about something. I promise that all of this is fine."

"Oh um, yeah. I'm fine. Great actually."

"Then loosen up a little." I smiled as I tried to stand up, but he stopped me.

"Here, I'll get it."

He stood up and reached for my plate, his hand was shaking. Once the table was cleared from our meal, be brought back two other plates that looked to have something brown on them. Cake. When he set the plates down, he poured me another glass of wine, along with himself. After he sat down, he chugged the whole glass at once. _Great my ass._

"This looks really good. Did you make this?" I asked, though I was sure he hadn't. Spaghetti was one thing, but I wasn't so sure about dessert.

"Uh, Emily did. I wasn't about to attempt baking." He laughed, more nervous than before.

When the cake was finished, he got up and cleared those plates as well. His nervousness was making my body tense. I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with him, but it had to be something big. Obviously he wasn't going to tell me yet, so I didn't push it. It took all of my patience. I drank more of the wine to help calm myself.

He came back from the kitchen and reached a shaky hand out to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me out of my chair. At first I was wondering if he was going to make me dance again to the still playing music, but he didn't. Instead he just held me for a while. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Jake you are definitely not okay."

"Yeah…"

"You can tell me, what's wrong."

"I think I'm just over thinking something. Trying to make this night perfect without ruining it."

"What are you talking about? Everything is perfect."

"Uh, well… Yes, it is." He leaned looked into my eyes before kissed me softly while holding each side of my face. He pulled away slowly. "You are perfect."

"If you say so," I said with an embarrassing snort. _Way to prove a point_. I rolled my eyes.

"I know so."

I moved away from me a little, dropping his hands from my face. He moved to go towards the living room, but stopped and turned the other way then stopped again.

"Uh Jake, you're starting to worry me a little."

"Oh, it's nothing Bells."

"Obviously it is."

He took a deep breath and let it out heavily. "I just, well… Damn it."

He reached into his pocket and fiddled with something for a moment as he looked deep in thought. He brought his hand back out while holding a little tiny velvet box. I eyed it curiously before he tightened his fist around it, making a groaning sound.

"I wanted to do this differently, perfectly, but I lack some serious creativity."

My heart thudded in my chest. "Uh, Jake? What are you talking about? What is that?"

"Bells, you know I love you more than anything and I know you feel the same. I want to make everything perfect for you. You deserve it. You deserve more than I can ever give you, but somehow, someway, we were meant for each other. I have never felt luckier than I do when I have you by my side."

"I feel the same for you. Like you said you know that." I tried to say more, but my throat closed up and I couldn't get the words out. I had a pretty good feeling what was going on and why he was so nervous. I hadn't put too much though into it. The only other time it came up, well… I didn't want to think about that.

"I know Bells and that's why I wanted to do this. It don't have to be any time soon, you don't even have to answer me. But the more I think about it, the more I want this. I love you and I want everyone else, outside our families to know it too."

He unclenched the box and held it out in his hand in front of me. I looked at it and looked back at him, eyes bouncing back and forth. His other head reached out and opened it. Inside was probably the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It was silver with a single diamond in the middle. It had a spiral pattern engraved on it that went around the diamond going all the way around the thin band. It was simple, yet absolutely beautiful.

"Oh my."

"I know it's not much, it was my mom's. Someday I will be able to get you your own, but-"

"Jacob it is perfect." I just stared at it, not moving and barely breathing. Even though I hadn't really thought about marrying Jake, though I knew it would happen someday, I immediately knew my answer. _Like I could really say no to him?_

"Really?"

"Yes, definitely."

"So-"

"Yes."

We both laughed at my response. I didn't need to hear what he had to say next. Either way it would be the same answer. He removed the ring from its box, mumbling something about the size, which I wasn't listening too and set the box down on the table. I stuck out my hand, which was shaking just as much as his was. He grabbed my hand and slowly slipped on the ring, which was a perfect fit.

Before he even had a chance to move his hand, I threw my arms around him and slammed my lips against his, almost knocking him over. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he squeezed his arms around me tighter. The kissed deepened, filled with need, want and the most powerful of all, our love.

The day had gone from one hell of a crazy afternoon to one amazing night. I had more happiness filled in me than I could ever have imagined and could ever be able to explain. All the bad was behind us, though I'm sure there could be more, I didn't think about that. I just couldn't wait to start a new future with Jake. Complications would be expected with our kind of life, I would take it all with him by my side. He was my strength, my everything. With him, anything was possible.

The night continued on that like, all thoughts of anything besides Jake and I were completely gone. It was the best and most memorable birthday I would ever have. And let's just say the memories didn't stop at the ring.

Charlie was thrilled with our engagement the next day and I was excited to hear about his newly formed relationship with Sue in return. Even Renee was happy for us, though she just didn't get the how's and why's that it was so soon. Jake and I decided we would go on taking everything one step at a time. No rushing and no over planning. We would continue to phase as long as we felt the need too and someday we would give a shot and Leah and I's theory. But for the time being, everything was more perfect than I could have ever imagined.

When I think about it now, going over the events that had happened since I moved to Forks, I realized just how much I have learned since that first day. But the most important thing was… nothing is impossible.

~End~

* * *

A/N: How do you feel about the ending? Love it? Hate it? Still have mixed feelings?

Thank you all again for all of your support through out the story! You guys are awesome!


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